Sanity
by Pajaros en la cabeza
Summary: What if Pyro's delusions suddenly disappeared? NOW COMPLETE. Rated T because of some violent/gore mentions and strong language.
1. Chapter 1

**TEAM FORTRESS 2 BELONGS TO VALVE**

* * *

Sniper watched the scene from the scope of his rifle, checking on his teammates protecting the entrance of the building, looking for more BLU heads to turn into red mist. For what he was seeing, everything was going fine: the enemies were backing up, overpowered. Things looked pretty grim for them for a moment, but it seemed the guys had grown some balls and got the job done. Nobody could blame him for the BLUs approaching too much: he had done all he could from up there and with all those partners getting in the way all the time.

The enemy Demoman had been watching for a while probably and finally spotted him, because something got in from a window. A grenade, which rolled to his feet. He didn't have the time to run.

The watchtower was in a ruinous state already, so that explosion made it crumble. It didn't affect Pyro, but something splattered her mask. Some kind of red pulp.

The BLU Demoman turned around just in time to see her watching, and he felt a really strong shiver running down his spine. Like if the Devil had just found him.

But the Devil couldn't be blown up into smithereens and this bastard could, so he was quick to direct his grenade launcher to his, her, its abominable face.

Only that this being seemed to be determined to get even for the death of its partner, and was quicker.

That was not Pyro's actual intention. Inside of her mask, a smile widened, but it was not a sadistic one. In her mind, she had just encountered a really cute puppy. Oh, how pretty that puppy was! So fluffy and cute she squeezed it and caressed its head, and the good boy barked happily, so glad to receive those attentions.

While, outside of her mind, the BLU was trying to keep Pyro's hands off his neck with desperation, feeling his lungs empty and a terrible pain. It was impossible, her hands were like pincers. In a desperate attempt to get her off him, he reached for his launcher, even if using it meant getting himself caught in the explosion too.

He was given no time to defend himself. Pyro kept squeezing, squeezing, squeezing, until there was a crack and the grenade launcher fell from the Demoman's limp hand.

Only that his last movement, mostly reflex, was pressing the button.

Medic didn't let the explosion distract him. He had just encountered the enemy Spy disguised as him and, caught, he was about to make use of his revolver, but he wasn't going to let him fire a single bullet. With a fast movement, he grabbed his chainsaw and winged it, cutting the Spy's neck almost in half. Seeing how there were no more shots and explosions, he deducted this was the last one, as he saw some partners checking out the area and Engineer walked out of his nest asking out loud if everybody was alright. It was time, then, to take care of the wounded partners. The nearest one was Pyro, and she looked pretty bad.

"Come on, come on, don't be such a baby, I'm here!"

She was howling like mad, and it was no surprise, because both her legs had disappeared with the explosion, but in his opinion he had to be thankful the rest of her body didn't blow into pieces as well. Some time later he would realize how this was the first time he heard her scream like that, because even displaying the most horrific mutilations she never complained. Also, and this is something that went unnoticed to him at that moment, she was trying to crawl away from him. Every fiber of her being was terrified and in pain.

"Stop squirming, I can't join your legs back together if you don't stop moving!" She wasn't collaborating, so he had to be a bit rough, so he could use his medigun to heal her.

Pyro kept whimpering as blood stopped squirting out of her destroyed legs, they looked as if nothing had happened and the pain left as suddenly as it came.

"What's the matter with you? Everything is over!"

"Everything clear, those bastards aren't going to bother us anymore" Soldier approached. His eyes under his helmet turned to the fallen teammate and, even though he was not the quickest mind in the team, he immediately noticed something wrong. "You okay, private?"

A heavy panting came from under the mask. A trembling hand touched it until it found the way to remove it. The person under it took a trembling, desperate breath, eyes open wide, and looked around her.

One by one the teammates approached, Sniper being the last one.

"Too bad I am too late to kick that Demoman's ass myself, 'cause I..." he was mumbling to himself, until he stopped.

He didn't need to ask what was going on. He could understand why his partners were surrounding Pyro and their surprise. Not only was he, she unmasked, showing her face for the first time in six years (damn, many of them found out now that they had been fighting with a woman), but there was something else. It was her expression. The way she looked around her. The way she looked at them.

"Pyro?"

Those terrified eyes turned to Engineer, who had cautiously approached.

"Are you alright?"

Everybody knew Engineer was the mercenary Pyro was closest to, but this time Pyro did the same thing she did after Medic healed her: she drew back until her back hit the facade of the building behind her.

"Hey, Pyro, it's okay, we killed them, everything's fine, we're all here, see?" Engineer tried to calm her down.

Her eyes only looked away from them to focus on the blood everywhere. Spilling the ground, soaking their uniforms, in her hands, in her mask. There was blood everywhere she looked.

She then let out a gasp and started sobbing.

The mercenaries looked at each other in silence, gravely. This wasn't right. This wasn't right at all. Seeing Pyro cry was way more terrifying than seeing her destroy everyone and everything in her path.

Medic approached Engineer to murmur to him closely and Engineer nodded, approaching Pyro. He knelt down in front of her, waited until crying relieved her a little bit, then spoke to her with the softest tone of voice he could deliver.

"...What the hell is going on...?" Scout whispered to the nearest partners, not very sure of what to think of what he was seeing but sure feeling creeped out by it somehow.

Demo shook his head while shrugging. When they both looked again, Engineer had convinced Pyro somehow of standing up and walking with him. After her eyes met the enormous Heavy, she cringed visibly and walked with her head down, shrunk as if she was freezing. Medic made a gesture to the others to wait.

"What is happening exactly?" Spy asked after that prudential time.

"Well...That is what I'd love to know" Medic placed his hands on his hips. "If I didn't know her like I do, I would say that she just had a panic attack"

* * *

The Administrator put out her consumed cigarette and joined her hands.

"So. Let me have this straight: she went sane out of nowhere."

"It seems so..." Miss Pauling said. "Medic says it was a grenade. It...I don't know, maybe she hit her head in the fall or..."

The Administrator's grimace made her go quiet immediately.

"So no more fairy tale land, no more giggles. She has seen what war is about and she's horrified" The older woman said out loud, but Miss Pauling was sure she was not addressing her directly. "Great. She is useless now."

"She is strong and knows a lot about fire, perhaps we can just train her to..."

"We have no time for that. Also, for what I have seen, it would be for naught. All this time she has thought this was a kindergarten playground, encountering pain and gore for the first time has left her like a sobbing mess; even if she accepted to keep working for us knowing what she is doing, she would have these..._feelings_. It wouldn't be the same. Her cruelty, her useful cruelty, is gone."

"Do you mean we have to...get rid of her?" Miss Pauling asked.

Her boss didn't reply immediately. She seemed to be ruminating the response. Even though she had just had a smoke, she lit up another cigarette, watching the smoke as it ascended. Then, her eyes lowered to the files her helper had found for her. She picked one of the pages and reread it, this time slower.

"Of course."

She took another drag.

"But" she pointed out "I don't think it is necessary to make her disappear. Have you read this?"

"Yes."

"It's a very short reading, isn't it? Empty. This woman has no origin, no story. No one to recur to, nowhere to go back. Nothing to lose and nothing to win. She can't do any damage to us. She doesn't even know what is going on now. All we have to do is let her go. And find someone who doesn't care about reality."

Nodding to herself, she gave one more drag.

* * *

When Engineer walked out of the room, closing the door gently behind him, he found his partners had barely moved in his absence, he found them almost in the exact same position he left them. He removed his hardhat and rested a hand on the table.

"I finally convinced her to go to sleep. It's been hard. She was so anxious."

"They changed our Pyro for this lady, right? I mean...What else could this mean?" Scout asked, sitting with his legs crossed.

"No, no, this is really Pyro, she's our teammate." Medic assured him.

"So you knew she's a gal?" Scout made a spine-breaking posture to look at Medic behind him moving the less possible.

"Of course I knew! I am your doctor! I know every inch of your bodies! Also, what does that matter? Are you going to flirt with her too?"

"Sure not! But, hell, it's still a surprise, I was sure that freak was a...a...not even human, I mean." Scout then turned to Engineer. "Also, why did she look so freaked out when she saw us?"

"She has no idea of who we are."

"Really?" Demoman asked.

"Yep. He even asked me if I was her father, her husband or something else of hers. Probably because, you know, I've been taking care of her and all. She thought we were going to hurt her. I tried to convince her to come out but she says she is scared of you guys. She's seen the blood, the weapons."

"I don't get it." Sniper said. "She's been here for years. She's done way worse than spilling some blood. Why is she now scared all of a sudden?"

"Hm...Amnesia, maybe? No...Wait...Perhaps...It is possible that she..." Medic thought out loud, and Archimedes perched on his shoulder.

"You gotta be a little more clear, Doc." Soldier told him.

"For starters, she is delusional" Medic explained, arranging his glasses because Archimedes, on him, seemed to find it entertaining to play with them. "As well as studying her physically, I created a psychological profile because I always found such cruelty in the battlefield fascinating, and I can assure you she has no idea of what she was doing. She has been taking this as a game and probably has a different idea of what or who we were. Has...had...? That is what I wonder. I am inclined to think that something's happened, and things have changed. You said she doesn't know who we are. Perhaps..."

"Excuse me, are you telling me" Spy changed his posture, cigarette hanging from his lips "that they hired a mentally sick person?"

"You have seen what she can do. Of course they had to hire her."

"I knew she was mad, but I thought she was mad like...like...the sadistic way, like...you know, these people who know what they're doing and don't care, like...Medic here!" Scout said.

"So all this time she thought she was playing?" Shaking his head, Demoman took a sip from his bottle. "Poor lass..."

"No wonder she was so scared before." Engineer sighed.

"What now?" Solder asked. "If she realized this is not Disneyland..."

"She has to leave."

Miss Pauling came out of nowhere, as all messengers from Mann Co. did. Good for her, she wasn't shot at sight like the majority of them. And it was evident she and, therefore, the Administrator too, were fully informed of what happened.

"But don't worry, we're already looking for a substitute."

"Miss Pauling, did you know about this? Did you know Pyro had a mental illness?" Engineer frowned. "Because if you did, this is kinda low."

"Thank you for your moral judgement, Engie. Nice coming from a guy who builds killing turrets. The team is incomplete without a Pyro but don't worry, we're on it, we'll find you a replacement. One who does not have any mental sickness which interferes with the mission."

"It's not that we care about that, nobody's perfect, it's just..." Demoman didn't finish.

"It will be hard adjusting to a new Pyro." Spy said.

"I know, but I can assure you we won't send you someone you can't 100% trust. There's nothing we can do: this one has to go. The team can't lack a Pyro."

"What will happen to her?"

It wasn't until Heavy opened his mouth for the first time in that day that the team felt as if they had poured freezing water on them. All eyes turned to Pauling. Her indifferent expression didn't change.

"She'll leave. That's all." That was her simple response. And she didn't actually say it, but the eight men were sure she also meant to add 'Don't think about it'. But they did. They had been working for the company for long enough to know that those who left it did not carry on with their lives in peace.

"For what I know, we've already found someone who can do a great job and we are negotiating his joining. You'll get news very soon. In the meantime, if she's pulled herself together already, tell her to start packing her things. I'll be back tomorrow for her."

All goodbyes she got when she left, even from Scout, were mere whispers, and pretty distracted. Most eyes were on the door which led to the room Pyro was resting in.

After smoking his cigarette, while the others were murmuring, Spy got up from his seat and walked to it, opening it gently.

He did it so gently the woman inside didn't notice. She had her back turned to the door, and she was holding the asbestos suit in front of her, as if it was the first time she saw it. Perhaps it was, under a new light. Her expression couldn't be seen, but Spy could imagine she didn't like it. Of course she lied when she promised she would go to sleep: too many things to think, to be surprised about. That room, which was suddenly a foreign, dark place, full of burnt things and chalk drawings on the walls. That building, squared and cold. The people outside talking about her, who were not the funny fantasy creatures she had believed.

In a way, Spy, just like his partners, felt the same way: under that monstrous mask a woman with a fragile mind was revealed. Nothing like the horrors they had imagined. If he had not done all sorts of exploitation from people weaker than him, he would have felt pity hearing Medic explain to them his diagnosis and thinking about that woman burning people alive for six years for a Mann's profit.

When Pauling said she had to disappear, Spy started to question if it was not better to her to just end her life there, before she lost her regained sanity by discovering what the real world was like. Still not making a sound, he closed the door. Pyro kept absorbed in her stupefaction, not having noted she had had company for some seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

It seemed pretty likely that Pyro had not slept that night, but she still looked around and moved nervously, as if in spite of having calmed down she couldn't shake off the feeling that the men around her were up to no good. In spite of their friendly words and their attentions, she had seen the blood, the weapons.

All of this time she thought she lived with a unicorn, a teddy bear, a bunny, a gnome, a centaur, an owl, a cyclops and a jack-in-the-box, in a perfect place full of color, cake, confetti and glitter. Now she found herself in a cold, grey place surrounded by men of flesh and bone she didn't know even if they insisted that they had been living together for six years and looked extremely dangerous.

She didn't trust that young lady with the glasses either. She said she would take her out of there, but she didn't know what to think of her. Was she someone she could trust? The men seemed to follow her orders. Still, Pyro packed her things and did as she was told. Not that there was much to take. She had no clothes apart from that horrible fire-proof suit—the girl in purple had to give her some to wear—, all she owed was a partially burnt plush toy. Nothing else. Therefore, she carried no bags.

The team was there to see her leave. Nevertheless, when she got out of the room, nobody said a thing, as if Pyro's timidness had spread among them.

"So...Uh...Where're you going?" Scout was the first to speak, because that silence was really uncomfortable.

Pyro turned her eyes to him. A young boy, how old was he exactly? He seemed just that, a young boy, still not an adult. He didn't look very threatening, but with that company, one never knew. Young people, especially when armed, could be pretty dangerous.

After a moment of thought, all she could do was shrug a bit. She had no answer to that. She didn't know herself.

"Do you have someone to stay with until you...?"

Oh, that was quite a question, and the next one, from Sniper, didn't help either.

"Are you even from this country?"

Her silence was quite telling, and it made the atmosphere even more awkward, if that was possible.

"Well..." Engineer cleared his throat. "If you find yourself in Texas, I got some friends in Waco who owe me a favor. I could give you their directions and make a call. They'd treat you well and help you find a job and..."

Yeah, Pyro didn't seem to like that idea much, he noticed soon. And it was understandable.

"Listen, perhaps you had a different idea of what we were like, what we do, but I gotta say—it's been nice working by your side. Whenever you need us..."

"Sure! Anything!" Scout said, drawing a smile.

"Yeah, thanks for the slaughter" Soldier nodded at Engineer's words.

"It's not easy to call here, but we can find a way...Here, it's homemade" Demoman stepped forward to give Pyro a bottle whose content she inspected with visible mistrust. "You might go blind at the first sip, but you'll be fine, it only lasts a few seconds."

'Thanks', her lips muttered, but no sound was heard.

As she had promised, Miss Pauling appeared at the door, driving her scooter, and made a gesture to her to approach. Pyro walked to the door, stopped there and turned around to look at the eight men behind her. There were no hugs, no kisses, no 'we'll keep in touch'. Still hiding in her shell, Pyro just gazed at them briefly before finally leaving. The mercenaries approached to watch her put on the helmet Miss Pauling gave her, get on the scooter and disappear in the horizon. For a long while none of them talked.

"Oh, I should have negotiated for one of her kidneys, her mammary glands and her ovaries...Alone and with no resource it would have been a great deal..." That, of course, was Medic, talking to himself or perhaps his dove out loud.

"Doktor" Heavy reprimanded him with a frown.

"What?"

"Do you think she'll be alright?" Demoman asked.

"Frankly? No" Spy replied, lighting up a cigarette. It almost seemed as if he needed to crush all optimism remaining.

"Welcome to the real life" he added in a mutter.

However, something contributed to lift the spirits, a curious apparition just a few minutes later.

He came in a green Ford, listening to loud surf music. They knew immediately he was not an intruder because the sentries didn't shoot at him as soon as he came into their area—the bosses had probably added his DNA to the database. When the car stopped in front of the door, the music kept playing for some more, until the driver finally turned the radio off and stepped out of the car. He was a ginger with big glasses, around forty. He was dressed formally informal and he had this side grin on his face while his eyes watched the whole facility. Whistling, he opened the trunk of his car and got a couple of big suitcases from it. He walked through the entrance.

"Hello? Anybody th-? Ah! Oh, gosh, you scared me! What are you all doing standing there?"

If this was another messenger from the Administrator, it was evident she was now hiring anyone at all. The man interpreted the silence with which he was received as a confused one, and it didn't spoil his good mood.

"Didn't the chick with the glasses tell you I was coming? My name's Don, but I guess I'll be known as Pyro from now on."

"Wait, you're the new Pyro?" Soldier asked. Thin. Way too thin. He couldn't see him running around.

"At your disposal."

"Ah, that was quick! Yeah, we didn't think it would take them so little time, we just said goodbye to the previous Pyro...Uh, welcome, I'm the Engineer, Dell in the civilian world" Engineer was quick to remove his googles before shaking his hand.

"Let me guess" Don smiled as he did "Texas?"

"How did you know?" Engineer smirked. "You're from...Let me guess...New York? Most specifically...Queens!"

"A+. No surprise you're an engineer. I got family in Texas. El Paso?"

"Nope. Bee Cave."

"It's still a pretty place."

"Welcome, be very welcome" Medic stepped forward to shake Don's hand enthusiastically. "It's always a pleasure to have new blood in the team...By the way, what is your type?"

"You must be the doctor, right? And I see you're not from here. Good accent, though. It's AB. I am a blood donor, so if you ever need some..."

"Oh, you can be sure of that." Medic grinned.

"Hello, there, big guy!" Don said to Heavy, who remained impassible. "You look just like the kind of guy who would be in charge of heavy weapons. And you...Okay, you got me, I can't tell who's the scout, who's the demolitions man and who's the sniper."

"You'll see, lad. You drink?" Demo smiled.

"More than I should."

"We're gonna get along, then."

"So. You are our new Pyro." Spy approached, and his teammates knew him well enough to know that his stare, his voice and posture did not assure the newcomer a warm welcome. "Well, if Mann Co. chose you I guess that's because you have what it takes."

"Ah, I get it. You don't trust me" Don put his glasses back to their place before they slipped. "Of course. I mean, I'll need to prove you I'm worth the job, replacing your partner. Well, you'll see with time. I didn't come all the way here to review my resume. First I'd like to leave all of this somewhere...Where's my room?"

"Yeah, this way, man, I'll show ya around" Scout offered himself.

"Thanks, buddy. If you could help me grab this one..."

"We're gonna take the teleporter."

"What is that?"

"It's so cool, just step on this thing."

As soon as a fascinated Don disappeared, followed by Scout, the remaining mercenaries looked at each other.

"Yep, this is how it works. You are fired and the next second they find a replacement" Demoman muttered, opening a bottle of scrumpy.

"What do you think of this one?" Medic asked.

"Too much talk." Heavy said.

"Yep." Sniper agreed.

"Doesn't look like the kind of guy who can cause destruction" Soldier crossed his arms. "But who knows?"

"Yeah...Who knows..."

'Perhaps he can be better than Pyro', Medic thought, but this time he didn't share his thoughts.

* * *

"A bus comes every hour."

That was everything the girl with the glasses told Pyro. She was looking around her, at the people in the streets, the houses; when she turned around she saw she was already leaving.

"W-Wait!"

But the other didn't listen to her or she was to her just one problem she had just gotten rid of. Driving away as soon as Pyro was out of the scooter, the pyromaniac was left alone, with those simple instructions and really nothing else apart from her plush and the bottle that black man had given her. Better than nothing, she guessed? But she didn't know of what use would all of that be. She had no money to take that bus, and she didn't have anywhere to go either. She guessed this town was a decent start. Things would have been better with money, still, because one had to eat.

She sighed and walked south. Maybe she found somewhere to stay, a job offer, or inspiration to know what to do or where to go.


	3. Chapter 3

It felt weird so incredibly weird to see that man wearing Pyro's suit. If it wasn't for his head showing, the team would have thought nothing had happened those last days, their partner was still there with them, as ready to fight as usual. He had to think there was something wrong with them glancing at him all the time.

Don frowned, closing his eyes firmly as he swallowed.

"Dammit, Demo, you were right, I can't see a freaking thing!"

"Just give it time, lad" Demoman smiled, drinking it peacefully in a corner, not the least affected by its properties, as if he was drinking simple water.

"But I'll give it to you: it tastes great."

"Family recipe."

"So, Don, how did you end up in here?" Scout was restless, he couldn't sleep knowing they'd be fighting to death again and there were still some hours to get to the place, so he sat to Don's side.

"Oh, Jesus, I can see again! Well, you guys lost a Pyro, for starters. Nah, it was that girl, Pauling, ain't she? Yeah, she knocked at my door and said she worked for this company and offered me a job. As simple as that. And I still don't have any idea of how she found me, because I don't go around putting posters with my services and my address."

"Yeah, well, you sure don't know these people. They found me too" Engineer told him, guitar in hand but not feeling like playing at the moment.

"They looked for half of us" Medic joined the conversation. "They know where to look."

"I can tell! So, all we gotta do is go to the place and stop some people from stealing a briefcase?"

"You picture it as if it was as simple as it sounds, and it ain't like that, son, I'm telling you" Engineer smirked.

"I hope I do it right."

"Sure you will. The first day it's the worse, when they kill you and respawn for the first time and stuff, but you'll get used to it. I mean, if you're not lame and keep dying all the time" It sounded funny, how Scout talked like an expert, being almost fifteen years younger.

"Heh! And you guys talk as if dying wasn't such a big deal!" Don chuckled.

"Death is something in whose eye we spit on every day, mein friend" Medic grinned and did widely so because he had something to do with it. "Welcome to Mann Co., where everything can happen."

"And tell me, Don" Scout insisted, getting his attention with a pat on his shoulder, "you went around setting random people on fire or what?"

"What? Haha! No what kind of lunatic does that?" The answer was in everyone's minds, but nobody said it. "Nah, I've used arson responsibly. You know, the first time I killed something was a forest, and I did it for job reasons. My boss told me to. His eyes were on a certain area but it was not on sale because it was a nature reserve. He chose me because I had his full trust. He offered me a succulent sum so I did it; like, who cares about a few trees anyway? But we got a snitch, my boss was arrested but before they got me too I found that rat and silenced him setting fire to his car while he was sleeping inside of it. I hate people like that, don't you?"

"Oh, yeah..." Everybody thought Soldier was sleeping, but it seemed not.

"So, well, I guess you've been through this, right? You do something as a kind of special favor, because you had a bad day, whatever, and it suddenly it becomes an habit. You got no idea of how profitable burning things is: destroying compromising documents, people too, land use changes, vengeance...I knew how to do it, how to do it well, leaving no trace, I mean, so I guess I became a professonal."

"One thing is burning vegetation" Spy said, sitting in an extreme of the wagon, playing with his butterfly knife "and another one is burning an armed man ready to fill your body with bullets."

"I know. I like challenges" Don smiled.

Spy made a grimace, perhaps a sarcastic side smile, then kept looking through the window.

"We'll keep an eye on you just today, okay? Til you get the drill" Scout friendly punched his arm.

"Thank you, my knight in shiny armor" Don laughed, wrapping an arm around him.

"Anything for another city boy."

The rest of the trip went more or less like that, just talking, which made time go a little faster. It was confirmed that Don was a very chatty man, and those were bad news for the less talkative members of the team, who were overwhelmed by Scout's verbal diarrhea and now had to suffer one more person like that. Good thing that Don knew when to shut his mouth, because as soon as they got to Frontier he went quiet and just helped moved the luggage and studied the environment he was in; perhaps he expected the BLUs to attack in any moment too.

The base the enemy team apparently wanted to blow up with a cart full of explosives was as squared, old, cold and tasteless as the one they usually lived in, but Don kept his thoughts to himself. According to the information Spy had intercepted the day before, the attack was programmed to 12:25, which meant they had just the time to open some cans, eat quickly and run to their positions. They were not sure of where they would come from exactly, so they had to leave as little blind spots as possible. They had a quick reunion before eating, in which all roles and positions were assigned. Since Don was in Offense, he was, of course, assigned the most dangerous role: attack in the front lines.

"This is your first day but we all had a first day and we were not spoiled and protected, so I don't see any reason why you should be" Spy severely looked at Don.

"I didn't expect you to, Spook" Don took it well, smirking.

With that said, everyone ran to fill their stomachs before the mission began. Don finally put his fire-proof mask on and it became double-disturbing for the rest of the team. They expected Pyro to giggle, sing, murmur something, but instead of that he silently waited, just wielding his Degreaser with curiosity to see how it worked, willing to try it soon.

"...It's so fucking cold, man..." Scout was jogging in the place just to keep himself warm.

"If it wasn't cold it'd be called summer, son" Soldier replied.

Scout realized something and his gaze turned to Don. Good he didn't hear him, because normally these kind of words were followed by some tree, object or animal nearby burning—until he realized that was the kind of stuff that happened with the previous Pyro. Oh, it would take him a while to get used to sanity.

It was exactly 12:25. Nothing happened. An hour passed. Two. Three. Four.

"Okay, what the fuck, are they coming or not? If this is gonna take longer I'm gonna need to sit down!" Scout complained stretching his limbs.

"I'll ask the frog what's wrong with his information. He probably used the frog time zone..." Soldier grunted, and turned around.

All Don commented was a little, almost silent 'hmmm'. He was considering the possibility that...

What he was ruminating on came true sooner than he had expected. There was a bang and Soldier was briefly surprised before he fell flat on the ground, with a hole in the base of his skull.

"Oh, crap!" Scout shouted, and immediately grabbed his pistol. However, he was shot in the hands and he was left with a hole that made him unable to use it. "Aah! Medic!"

Don frowned. As he had suspected. The information was false. It was a trap to keep them waiting. He grabbed his flare gun and aimed into the direction that bullet must have come from. He fired a little blindly. Someone shot, but the bullet impacted at his feet.

"You missed, bitch!" he grunted under his mask before firing again. And this time he hit his target, because the air was filled with screams of pain before they were silenced by the explosions and the shots.

They were coming in stampede, the biggest, heaviest of the teams pushing a cart in which a big bomb rested, protected by their team. The Demoman was delivering a grenade rain on them, already making Medic blow up in pieces in the worst moment possible, when his teammates needed him the most. They had to be stopped before this got even worse.

Don focused, aimed again, closing his right eye. Then fired twice. The first projectile hit and exploded right in the Demoman's face. There was no time to see if the body who fell backwards still had a head with all that smoke, because the second one was aimed to the bomb. Since it was not enough, he fired a few more times.

A big explosion ruined everyone's hearing and certainly something more to the BLUs. Now RED could wait patiently for the mist to dissipate because no one was shooting at them anymore; when it did, they saw the enemies had been reduced to pieces and red blots around a crater.

Don let out a little laugh and removed his mask. Curiously, he didn't wear his glasses in battle.

"Guess you could call that a massive domination weapon, right?" And he laughed again.

He walked to his partners, calmly leaving all that disaster behind.

"Okay, he made you look like an idiot" Scout smirked to Spy.

"Beginner's luck" Spy frowned, lighting up a cigarette.

"Don't be hard on Spy" Don approached, opening one of the cases of his belt to get his glasses and put them on "There's always nasty tricks like these. And he's human too, he makes mistakes."

He was about to wrap an arm around him, but Spy slipped away from him. "Touch me and I will stab your eye."

Maybe his teammates interpreted him leaving as a shameful escape, but in that moment he didn't give a hoot about what they thought. He lit a cigarette and thought he hated his BLU counterpart for having discovered him nosing into their communications, and mostly, hated his new partner. Even if he was, as he was hearing Heavy call him, 'credit to team'. He hated people like him. They made him prefer mindless psychopaths like the former Pyro.

Which reminded him...He wondered what she was doing now...


	4. Chapter 4

Her fingers caressed the happy child in the illustration, almost as if she could feel the texture of her rosy cheek, her butterfly wings and colorful, silk tutu. As if that winged child was someone she once knew.

"Sorry, ma'am."

Puzzled eyes turned to the librarian.

"We're closed."

The lady didn't reply. She stood up from the floor, left the book on the round, little table near her, and just walked out. The librarian, seeing her go, knew she would be back the next day to sit in the children's section to watch the books, never accompanied by a child or borrowing one, always with that look on her face, always carrying a partially burnt plush unicorn and a bottle of God knew what.

The contrast between the warm library and the cold street made her whole body shiver. She hugged herself and thought the girl with the glasses could have given her a coat too.

It was dark already and she felt tired, so it was time to go back to her usual place, to the alley near the bakery and the pharmacy. There the chill wind wasn't as ruthless with her and she could at least enjoy the smell of the recently baked bread and buns. She sat there, on the pavement, wrapped her arms around her legs and closed her eyes.

But she had barely done that when she opened them and stood up quickly.

"So, tell me, when does your plan of quitting the self-pity and avoiding dying of hunger begin?"

She felt her heart pounding inside of her chest. A man, come out of nowhere, practically fused with the shadows, was looking at her. She could only see the dim light coming from his cigarette until he took a few steps towards her; then she saw light was useless with that mask covering his face.

"Relax. I just came here to invite you to have dinner."

She didn't reply to his offer. She looked just like a fragile doe cornered by a wolf.

"Please" the man insisted patiently. "If it helps, I'll assure you that if I had come here to kill you, I would have done it already."

She still didn't say anything, but her features relaxed a bit.

"I will not cease until you accept, so consider saving time to us both. You may have all time in the world now that you are unemployed, but I am busy."

Finally, Pyro gave a nod.

* * *

Spy, he said. His name was Spy. Pyro was sure she knew that name. Oh, yes, the jack-in-the-box. This was way more attractive, but still didn't know when he could take her off guard.

He took her to a little house in the center of the town, small but very nice, or maybe perhaps a little too decorated out-of-fashion—whoever owned it, it was not Spy, but way older. Still, Spy moved around as if it was his, some delicious smell came from the kitchen, and he suggested her with great insistence that she took a shower while he gave the last touches to what he had in store. She was afraid he was indeed preparing something, some terrible surprise, or that he called someone. Just in case, she locked the door of the bathroom while she washed herself. It did make her feel better, and more after Spy brought her clean underwear, black pants and a grey turtleneck.

When she came out, Spy was serving wine in two cups on a table where there was roasted chicken with baked potatoes.

"Sit."

There was no hesitation from her this time. She immediately started eating, she didn't mind if the food was poisoned or not. She would take the risk.

"You have eaten nothing these days?"

She stopped then, realizing she was probably being gross, but soon she kept eating, since Spy needed nothing else to confirm it was true. Therefore, he let her eat as much as she wanted, in silence. It allowed him to think. And he thought, and he would have never believed he would have such an opinion about Pyro, that she was beautiful. The kind of person most men—and women who swung the other way—could not resist to. Thinking that this face was behind that mask all along!

When they finished, Spy lit up a cigarette.

"...I want you to tell me everything." Oh. So Pyro could talk. It was about time he heard her voice. Her androgynous voice.

"Everything about what?"

"What you guys and...me were...doing. And...me. My life. I feel...I feel so lost...I don't know where I am or why I am here, if I have someone waiting for me somewhere or..."

It was Spy's turn to take his time to reply.

"Is that going to help you go somewhere? You have been given an opportunity many wouldn't reject."

"Well...Maybe! Please. I keep no memories. Only...images. Dreams. Of a pretty place which looked nothing like the place I found myself in, surrounded by...dead people."

"We wouldn't have kicked you out so soon, but the bosses insisted. I know it's tough but..."

"Please...What's your name?"

"Spy."

"That...doesn't sound like a real name."

Spy simply shrugged.

"All right...Spy, then...I...Look, I don't even know my own. You called me Pyro, but that sounds wrong, and the girl with the glasses told me I couldn't use it anymore because it belonged to the company. What company, anyway?"

"You have a lot of questions and it would take me the whole night to answer to them all."

"I am going nowhere."

"I don't have all night, myself."

"Ah" Pyro frowned, "so you came here to give the poor girl new clothes, dinner, a pat in the back and leave her-"

"What you are asking me is to give you some classified information."

"Well...You are a spy. It's in your name. You can probably tell me something about myself."

"It is not going to help you."

"Anything will help! Anything at all!"

"Will it help you to know you killed your parents and your older sister in a fire when you were just a child? That you grew up in a mental hospital, where you killed and maimed several doctors and nurses? That you spent all those years caged up like an animal and that's why you don't even know how to read or write? That you found your escape burning the whole place up and Mann Co. found you before the police did? That you have been burning men alive for money these last years? Tons of money, actually, that you shouldn't have burned in..."

His rambling stopped when Pyro started crying, burying her face in her hands. The Frenchman sighed.

"_Desolé_."

"What?..."

"I mean I'm sorry."

"Sniff...No...It's...It's okay...It's just that...Is that true?"

"All of it, yes."

"I killed my own family? I spent years in a...and then...? Oh, dear..."

"I told you it wouldn't do you good."

She kept sobbing for a while. Spy, consuming his cigarette in the meanwhile, offered her a handkerchief when he considered she was done, which she accepted.

"Come on now, it's in the past. You'd do better thinking about the future."

"But what future does someone like me have? The asylum again? The chair?"

"Waiting for death to come lamenting your lost dreamland isn't much of a help, that is for sure."

"It's just that the world seems so...so...dark...boring...cold..."

"It's always been that way. Sorry to break it to you...Listen, if I help you do you promise you will stop all the lamenting?"

"...And why would you do that?"

"Well, the others already told you. We have fought elbow to elbow, you have been an useful co-worker...And if there is someone who needs assistance, that is you, you pathetic little lady."

Pyro sniffed for the last time and wiped the tears off her face, drawing a little smile.

"Thanks..."

"Start by asking around if people are offering jobs. You have lots of time to go into every store in this town. Also, you need to learn how to read urgently: you are going nowhere if you don't know the basics. I am aware that this is a town of idiots, but they still have some decent literacy programs. I swear to what is sacred, if you lose more time thinking of flying unicorns and nonsense..."

"Okay, okay..."

"And I shall give you some money so you can buy...No. I will buy them myself. I doubt you have taste. As for the shelter, this room has already been paid three months in advance. So you'd better work hard if you don't want to roam the streets again."

"...We must have been very good friends. Or you're the nicest guy of the team."

Spy couldn't repress a chuckle. He thought of telling her the truth, but she had already had many disappointments.

He was not such a nice guy. It was just that he knew what it was like. To be alone, nameless and helpless.

No. He was heartless but not as heartless as to let someone in whose hands he had put his life and vice versa go through that.


	5. Chapter 5

The team had been together for long, worked together for many years and now were (almost) perfectly syncronized, but there was no problem with the new addition, all the contrary, even their objectives were more easily accomplished. The guy was a professional, he trully was.

Don himself was so glad his coming had helped the team reap one reward after the other that he invited his team to a round of drinks. And, of course, after months of hard work and little rest, they were not going to miss the chance of having some fun and getting free drinks.

"It feels so great to breathe without that damned suit!" Don stretched before sitting down.

"Well, our previous Pyro wore it all the time. And when I say all the time, I mean all the time" Scout replied. "In the shower, while eating..."

That was why he didn't even know what their gender was, he thought. And again it felt so weird to see the suit hanging from a rack.

"Wow, the guy sounds like a big freak, for all things you've told me."

"Yeah...Pretty much..."

"You never take off that helmet and uniform, Soldier?" Don cocked his head to look at the Offense.

"Negative!"

"Sure, always showing that American pride!"

"Exactly!" Soldier smiled.

"If only you washed them more often" Medic murmured.

Don glanced around, with that smile of his like permanently installed on his face.

"Good choice, Demo."

"Aye, if there's something I know about, apart from explosives, is bars. This one has the cutest blondie in all the Midwest."

"I can tell. Man, look at the curves of that one...Uuuh, she's coming!"

Scout chuckled and was ready to shamelessly compliment the woman's attributes when he bit his tongue. All conversations at the table ceased right there, as soon was the waitress approached.

Pyro smilyed shyly and brushed a lock of hair from back from her face.

"Hello, boys."

Engineer smiled too, standing up. He was about to hug her but he changed his mind, remembering how extremely uncomfortable was their last encounter, so he just said: "You look good."

And he meant it. His partners agreed. She looked different from the last time they saw her, scared, agitated and confused. Spy had seen her weeks before also noted it. He was glad she had listened to him and took the bull by the horns. There was still this fish out of water vibe around her, completely understandable, but she also had a certain something, like she was finally awake and ready to face the new world around her.

"Thanks. You...also look different...nicer."

"Yeah, even killers like to have fun and dress well sometimes."

"Well, this is a surprise. Do you work here now?" Demoman asked her.

"Yes."

"Everything alright?"

"Yes! I...I started working here like three weeks ago and in my free time I am taking classes..."

Her eyes met Spy and she saw him smile with approval, which helped her feel more confident and comfortable.

"Ahem!" Don stood up too, resting the weight of his body on Heavy's chair. "When are we going to be introduced?"

"Don, this is your predecessor" Engineer said.

"Mabel" Pyro offered Don a hand to shake.

"Ah, your name was Mabel?" Scout asked.

"Actually, I don't know, but I needed one and I...kind of liked this."

"You must have been the best: what man could ever shoot such a pretty face?" Don smiled charmingly while shaking her hand. "I'm joking. Well, no, I still think you're good-looking, if I may. Nice to meet you, Mabel. I'm still curious about your fighting skills. I wish I'd had the chance to see you in action."

Pyro's smile faded a bit as she felt shivers down her spine, remembering her suit filled with blood, the lack of air inside of the mask...

"I don't think it was skill. Just...So you are in charge of...?"

"Burning things. Yep."

"Oh...Is he...good?" she asked her former colleagues.

"Well...Not bad." Medic smirked.

"Not bad? I saved your ass yesterday, Doc! What do you mean 'not bad'?" Don replied.

"Hey, come on, we didn't come here to talk about work, we're supposed to be having fun!" Demo interrupted their conversation. He would have lied if he had said he hadn't exchanged a quite significant look with Engineer, which adviced him to stop talking about everything related to Mann Co. in her presence.

"Right that!" Soldier agreed.

"Yeah, what the heck! Wanna sit with us, Mabey?" Don offered Pyro.

"Excuse me" Before she could reply, she was gently pushed aside by Brad. The group knew him. He was the manager, and a jerk.

"Mabel, leave this to me..."

Pyro didn't leave, she just moved out of his way while she saw him glare at them like garbage.

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't know. Is there?" Demoman frowned.

"Easy, pardner, we're just talking here" Engineer told him, trying to be friendly.

"I'm sorry but you have to go" Brad told them.

"Oh, come on, why?" Scout complained.

"Last December you snapped the neck of one of our customers!"

"He looked at us funny!" Soldier justified it.

"He was cross-eyed!"

"Maybe he should have known better than...!" Soldier was rambling, standing up, when Heavy held him.

"Stop. If he wants to leave, we leave."

"Yeah, your loss, you moron. Like you were the only bar in here" Scout said to Brad, standing up too and picking up his coat.

"Sorry, pal..." Engineer muttered to Pyro. "We don't want to cause you trouble."

"Uh...I live in Gravel Street...Perhaps...One of these days...If you're not too busy..."

The Engineer smiled at that proposal. It meant she was not intimidated anymore, and that she was definitely getting out of her shell.

"Sure. We always got time for old friends."

Now he did pat her arm friendly before getting his things and, like the others, started to walk out.

"One of these days. You. Me. Naked. No weapons." Soldier was threatening Brad close, so, so close. The manager seemed so small and sickly compared to that buff man.

"Come ooon" Sniper grabbed Soldier by the collar and dragged him out. "Been nice seeing you again."

"Yeah, glad to see ya!" Scout saluted her with two fingers before following them.

"Bye!"

"Goodbye, Mabel."

"It's been a pleasure" Don winked and closed the door behind him.

Brad sighed and crossed his arms, looking at Pyro.

"So, do you know these people?"

"Well..."

"If you do, you'd better be finding better companies, because they are the worst. The whole county is fed up of them, the destruction they are causing all the time, the hullabaloo. They're no good, I'm telling you. And the boss doesn't like them a little bit since that one, the one with the glasses, set the bar on fire two years ago."

"Oh...Really?"

"Yeah. So I'd keep to myself I know those people if I were you."

"Sure...Not that...they are my friends or anything...I just know them..."

"Don't worry, after dealing with them all assholes you come across will look like Mother Teresa to you. Why don't you go help Linda out and go have a little rest? I got your back."

"Thanks, Brad, you're so nice."

She trully needed a bit of time to sit down. Pyro walked to the other side of the counter, where her co-worker was getting more ice cubes.

"Can I help you, Linda?"

"No, I'm fine. I get to do more things alone. Wash the counter and the tables."

"Okay."

Pyro left to do as she was told and Linda looked up when Brad approached to serve some customers their drinks.

"Why do I have to babysit her?"

"Be patient, she's an absolute beginner. Sure you've been in her situation before."

"I wasn't so dumb and useless."

"Hey, if you don't like it, you know where the door is."

Linda puffed in annoyance.

* * *

"She looked more of a Spy to me. You know, the femme fatale." Don commented. "Oh, come on, give me her number, please. I'll give you my loot."

"Well. She looks like she's...managing" Medic also said, rubbing his hands to keep them warm.

"I'm actually surprised she didn't burn the whole place down in all this time" Scout said.

"We should really visit her some time" Engineer said. "Just to make sure she's all right."

"Yeah, why not?" Demoman agreed. "We'll probably stay here for some more months. Guess she'll appreciate the company."

"I would have never imagined, seeing her, that she'd be a mercenary. But, well, you know women. Soon she'll find someone and will get married and all of that will be over forever." Don said, his hands inside of his pockets. "And I'm telling you: really soon. She's very cute and naïve."


	6. Chapter 6

"Your friends are here...again."

Lina was never too nice, but when those men came, she became sourer. She didn't care much about the mercenaries coming because, despite their frequent fights with other customers and some destruction they caused, they drank like fish, which meant a lot of money for the register, and liked pretty ladies like her, which mean a lot of money for her pockets. So when now Brad nor Mr. Green were around, she allowed them to stay. That is, until that Mabel girl came along. They wanted her to attend to them, only her, and she got those succulent tips ever since. Even greater, because it seemed they really got along.

Suspicious. She was their friend, so that meant she was hiding something. No decent person hanged out with those people. Linda served the nearest tables, cleaned them, and listened, tring to know more about the newbie.

She never liked her. So dumb and always bothering her, like a leech. Like if she had interest in being her friend.

Linda was eager to get something, see something, she could report to the boss. Well, perhaps she didn't need to. Who was he going to believe?

"Okay, beer for everyone. Except you, Spy; here's your wine."

"Acceptable" Spy smiled, tasting a bit of it.

"Isn't your friend, the new Pyro, coming tonight?" Pyro asked.

"Nay, him and me played shots this morning and he won, but at what price?" Demoman replied.

"Good for you. The bloke ain't gonna flirt with you for once, eh?" Sniper smirked.

"Oh, well..." Pyro smiled shyly. Had she known the things everyone used to say about her monstruous appearance before, she probably would have taken those compliments better. "Nah, Linda is gorgeous. You guys are just being nice to me."

"Mabel, if you want to sit down and drink with the gentlemen it's okay, I'll do the work alone" Linda reprimanded her.

"Sorry! I'm coming!" Pyro left.

The mercenaries told her not to worry, because they understood she was at work, and just started drinking.

"There's a drunk bastard who needs and ass kicking, can you...?" Linda pointed at a man who was near the restrooms, having evidently used them recently.

"Ah...Okay..."

She took deep air and approached the man.

"Sir, I believe you have drunk too much. You are disturbing the other customers. If you please..." that was what Brad taught her to say, and what she repeated.

"I would disturb you, precious! In bed! With my dong!" the drunk man replied.

Okay, don't get nervous, Mabel. Stay calm.

"Please..."

Linda, serving some cokes and watching her from the corner of the eye, chuckled seeing how she just couldn't be firm.

"You single?" the man was uncomfortably close to Pyro, and she almost retched, smelling his breath of alcohol and vomit.

"Excuse me."

Demoman had stepped in, and rolled up his sleeves.

"I'll teach you the Ullapool way."

"Eh, get lost, ya n-!"

Plaf! Demoman punched the man so hard he fell flat to the floor, then grabbed him by the collar and the pants, opened the door with a kick and threw him out.

"And respect women next time!" Demo yelled at him before getting back inside.

"Thanks" Pyro whispered to him.

"Anytime" it wasn't sure if Demo winked or just blinked.

"So" Linda passed by her side, "can you go now get some chips? Or you need your friends to help you out too?"

The other said nothing and just hurrily went to do what she was told.

"In other times, that man would have lost his head..." Medic commented.

"She is sure different" Heavy replied.

Gosh, did she hate her. Linda, as she served table 11, regretted once again the day Mr. Green gave her a chance (surely because she was cheap). She was stupid but still those people loved her.

Well, let's see how they helped her out now.

She walked to the employees' room and there she used the phone.

"...Hi, Brad. Sorry to bother you on your free day, but...yeah, I thought you should know that Mabel has done nothing to stop the mercenaries from coming and they are already drinking too much. They are not listening to me...Yeah...Yeah, I know. No, you don't have to...okay, see you then."

She hanged up and went back to work.

Discrediting her in the eyes of the manager was one thing, now she only had to do the same about the customers. She might have a pretty face, but she had been working for five years in the industry for fifteen years and knew it was not enought to save someone's ass when they were an incompetent.

"Alright, Bonk here, beer for-"

The peacefulness of the bar was broken when there was a howl. When the mercenaries turned their heads to table 7 they saw a young man who had just had a beverage shower, after the tray their ex-partner was holding fell over him.

"Goddammit!"

"Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry!"

"Mabel! What have you done?" Linda exclaimed behind her.

"I am very sorry, sir, let me..."

"No! No, no! Don't you come near me!"

"I'll get you a towel..."

Poor Pyro looked so disoriented and embarrassed for a moment. Then, breathing deep, she followed Linda.

"You pushed me frm behing..." she muttered to her.

"Oh, come on" Linda didn't even look at her.

"You did."

"I didn't do it. And if I did it, it was an accident."

She was about to give the costumer the towel, but Pyro stopped her.

"Why are you doing this to me, Linda?" asked calmly.

"What are you saying?" Linda wrinkled her nose.

"I just want to do my job, learn, and I feel like I'm bothering you just for existing."

"Well. Maybe you do." Why denying the truth, Linda thought. Yeah, she just didn't care. "I've come across two-faced bitches like you before. And I don't know if you're really dumb as shit or if this is all an act. But I don't care. I just don't like you. Get it in your head. I don't like you. I don't want to be your nanny. I don't want to be your friend."

"Excuse me?" the soaked customer was waving his arms, asking for attention.

"So..." Linda glared at her for the last time before pushing Pyro aside and making her way to table 7.

"My sincerest apologies, sir. She's new, you see? And mentally challenged..."

"Well, put her to wash the dishes or something!"

And he had more to say: that suit was 1,000 dollars, he would have to take it to the dry cleaner and he was not going to pay for that; but he didn't have the time to do it. Linda was sure she had left Pyro crying or hiding from the shame, so she didn't see her grab one of the caramel liquors ans walk to her until she turned around and saw her, just a few seconds before the bottle exploded into pieces in her face. There were screams and then silence fell upon the bar. The customers of table 7 were petrified—so was the whole place.

Pyro stood there, gazing at the fallen waitress. Then, her eyes met the complaining customer, and he shook visibly.

"...It's okay, it's okay! Everything's okay! This is nothing! Just water with flavors, haha! It can be washed! Don't worry!"

Big hands touched Pyro, but she still barely reacted. Heavy softly took her out of the bar, followed by their friends. None of them dared to say a thing either until they were out, and after giving Pyro a while.

"...Mabel?"

Pyro blinked, like breaking out of her state.

"You okay?" Engineer asked her softly.

Pyro doubted, then shook her head.

"It was her fault the drinks fell on that man. She's always been mean to me. Then I..."

"Ah, well deserved, then!" Medic claimed lightly. "In fact, I'd say that was progress!"

"Progress? I...I smashed a bottle on her face!" Pyro exclaimed.

"Yeah, we saw that, right in the nose!" Demoman lamented that Linda's pretty face was wasted, but he had smashed bottles on people before and it brought him good memories.

"How can you be so okay with it?! I could have killed her! She must be in terrible pain now!"

"Now, now, didn't you just say she was being mean to you? What's the problem, then?" Sniper asked, shrugging.

"Wha-? Can't you all see this is wrong? Oh, of course not. You kill people for a living. Sure this is fun to you. Guess what? To me it isn't!"

"Calm down, girl."

"No, I'm not calming down! You guys...You guys are scary!"

"Hey, you were the one who's scared us all of this time!" Scout protested. "At least we try to kill our victims quick! You burnt them alive!"

"Scout" Enginner grunted at him.

"I didn't know!" Pyro replied, hurt by his words. "I didn't want to do that! I thought I was just giving people candy, playing hide and seek, picking up flowers! Blood and pain and gore...is horrible!"

"Mabel!"

Oh, no. Brad was approaching.

"B-Brad, I..."

"I told you never to come back again!" he faced the mercenaries, wrapping an arm around Pyro to protect her. Even if he looked pathetic compared to those men.

"Relax, bro, we didn't do-"

"You'd better leave now or I'll call the police! And I will get a gun and shoot all of you if you come near again! Since that's the only language you know!"

"Ah, so you wanna fight?" Soldier approached menacingly. He was like double his size, tall and wide. "As if you knew where the trigger is!"

"Alright. Alright. We are leaving. Don't get nervous" Spoke spoke in a conciliatory voice.

"Pheh! Don't get nervous, he says..." Brad spouted.

Spy's eyes met Pyro and she looked away.

Before leaving, Medic approached. Brad forced her to draw back but she could hear him mutter:

"It is still there..."

Brad still didn't let Pyro go until he saw them disappear around the corner. Then, Pyro started to sob.

"Linda...Linda..."

"What happened to Linda? What have they done to her?"

"It wasn't them, I...There's something very wrong with me, Brad...I'm so sorry...I'll..."

"There, there, it's okay. It's okay."

Brad embraced her and Pyro cried on his shoulder for a while.

"No, it's not...Y-You don't know w-w-what I've done...W-What I used ot be..."

"Is it related to them?"

Pyro nodded. Now he would push her away and tell her he knew there was something funny about her, that he didn't want anybody related to them in any way near him, and would fire her.

But he didn't do any of those things.

"I see..." he just muttered.

"I didn't want anything bad to happen..."

"I know...You are a sweet girl, Mabel. I know you wouldn't hurt anybody on purpose...Look at me. Hey, look at me. I want to help you, okay?"

"..."

"I'm your friend. Don't you forget that."

"Sniff..."

"...Whatever happened here, we'll say they did it. On one condition. You will tell me everything and let me take you next week to a doctor."

A doctor? Pyro looked at him with a worried look.

"A doctor of the head. I am sure he will help you."

* * *

"Yes, yes, I can see a solution...Rage. How didn't I think of it before? Nothing better than rage to let the subconscious come to the surface. Perhaps using it in our favor..."

"Medik" Heavy interrupted Medic, driving one of the two cars they had used to go there. "This is not good."

"Why? The killing instinct is still there, we just have to encourage it and she'll go back to normal!"

"No, Doc, Heavy's right" Engineer said, turning around in the seat to look at him "We already have Don to do the Pyro job. It is clear she never wanted to do it. Mann Co. used her mental sickness. Now she has the chance to live the life she wants, of sound mind and in peace. We gotta let her"

"It is not that I am not happy with the Pyro we have now ...I just think I have clearly seen it's in her nature to-"

"Listen" Engineer frowned. "I know Pyro. She considered me a friend and, heck, I did like her back. I've read fairy tales to her, decorated rooms with crayons when she asked me, played tea party. She's not a killing machine. She's a good person who likes sunshine, happiness and all that jazz. And I want her to be happy, so you'd better not sabotage her new life, okay?"

"Why don't you go back there and kiss her in the lips, Romeo?" Scout mocked him.

"Shut up, kid"

Scout didn't think much about it. To him, Pyro was crazy before and she still was, just in a different way. Like, not Pyro. That lady who used to be Pyro. The legitimate Pyro, the new one, Don, was cool. Oh, yeah, if he was out of the sofa already, he would tell him all that happened—the funniest things always happened when one was not present, definitely!

He found him reading outside, on some ammo boxes and under a light, with a cup of warm tea by his side.

"Tea? Really?" he laughed at him.

"Yeah, Demo tricked me. My whole body hurts and I need to clean it up" Don smiled.

"He's gonna kill you one of these days."

"I'm starting to think so."

"Dude, you have no idea of what you miss-"

Scout sat by his side and when he caught a photograph from the corner of his eye, his smile faded slowly.

"...What are you reading?"

Don turned his head to him.

"Ah. Nothing."

"Is that...Me?"

Before Don could see anything, Scout had already grabbed the paper. He read it over, his smile disappearing definitely.

He was reading about the house in which he had grown up, the city where it was, about each of his seven older brothers, his mother and even his deceased father. His short educational life, the little jobs he had before he became a mercenary, his stadistics as one. His physical characteristics, weapons, complex, weight, height, blood type, clinical history...

There were photos too, from first grade, his mother, the one they took him when he started working for the company...

"...Don, what's all this?" he asked, his tone of voice changing completely.

"Eh. Found it." Don stood up and looked at him, his expression serene. "Don't tell me it was a secret."

"Well...Some of this is...kinda private..."

"Ah! I'm so sorry. I just...found it. Sorry, I saw that around and thought you guys didn't mind, since it was in plain sight..."

"Really?"

"Yeah" Don smiled, elbowing him friendly. "Hey, you didn't tell me you had such a hot mom!"

"Yeah, well...Uh...Listen, Don..." Scout took a step away from him. "I really don't like people talking about my mom, okay? I'm sure you don't mean to mock her but..."

"Of course not! Hey, I'm sorry if it sounded like I...! Hey, I respect you, little bro. My dad left us for his secretary, so I know what it's like. Please, don't take it-"

"No, no, right. I'm sorry...I'll take this, okay?"

"Sure."

"I'm going to bed now...Night!"

"Night, Jeremy."

Scout got inside. As soon as he was away from Don's sight, he glanced at the papers again and frowned, feeling so extremely uneasy.

In plain sight...?


	7. Chapter 7

_"Every night I ask mom, dad and sister for forgiveness...I wonder if we were a happy family, like the ones we see on the TV...I ask myself what they were like, when I look at myself in the mirror I wonder if I take after my mom, my dad or some grandparent...And every night too, when I get in bed, I remember what it felt like to wake up...And...And sometimes I think it would have been much better if I didn't wake up at all...You know...If I had stayed the way I was...At least I was happy then..."_

_"I must admit your case is quite difficult, not having access to your medical history, but what you have been telling me these days has been much of a help. And you attitude is the correct: you clearly distance yourself from the abhorrent actions you have performed in your hallucinations and you are willing to integrate into society. You will find that schizophrenia is a disorder you can live with if you are given the proper treatment and care. For the care, I see you have someone to provide it. As for the treatment, we will have to discuss our next sessions and before you go I shall give you the prescription of a medication that should help you."_

Pyro's eyebrows furrowed, her eyes on the little container. She gave up and looked for Brad, in the kitchen.

"Too many difficult words, I can't read them..."

"It's okay, I don't know what they mean myself, but they are chemicals that are good for the brain" he explained to her, giving the last touches to the salad he was making.

"Are they?"

Brad smiled, left the food aside and placed his hands on Pyro's shoulders.

"I know all of it sounds scary, but, trust me, they are safe and will help you see the world in a different way. You won't feel lost or confused anymore."

"I hope so. It's so...so..."

"You heard the doctor: you need to focus on the good things, think positive. You will get better. Just believe it, okay?"

Pyro smiled.

"Why are you so nice to me, Brad? I've been a terrible employee."

"Everybody deserves a chance, right?" Brad shrugged, smiling too.

"Well, you were not so charitable with my ex-partners..."

"That's because I've already given them way too many chances" Brad frowned, his expression changing at the mention of those men. "And you are not like them in any way. You didn't know what you were doing. They used you. They took advantage of your sickness to make you commit crimes."

"...They were nice to me, though..."

"Mabel, it's time you learn a harsh truth: bad people often treat people nicely before, while and after doing bad things to them."

His expression softened, as he turned around to grab the salad.

"You have to take one during meals, remember. Starting now. I left you reminders all around the house, just in case."

* * *

The shower had helped Engineer not to feel so sleepy and sticky that morning, after working on some scrap metal first thing in the morning. He served himself a cup of coffee, which renewed his spirits even more, to the point that he felt he had enough energy to build a whole robot army, and walked to his workshop with the cup in one hand and a bun in the other, humming an old country tune.

However, his good mood dropped when he arrived there and found that the door was not locked, as it should have been. Holding the bun with his teeth to grab his pistol, he turned the doorknob slowly, carefully. There was a figure inside, as he feared. Next, he stormed in.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Don turned around.

"Oh, hi, Engie. Good morning. I just remembered you never showed me where the magic is created. Wow, is that a gun?"

"Yeah, I don't give guided tours..." His good mood was certainly gone. Engineer left his breakfast on the nearest surface but the gun was still in his hand. And he looked like he was going to use it. "Don, I'm pretty sure I mentioned it the day we met, but I guess it was too much information for you in just one day...At least that's what I'd like to think...Because I'd prefer that people stay away from my workshop, especially when I'm not around, see?"

"Hey, I was just having a look, pardner."

"Sorry if I'm being a lil' harsh but...I am pretty sure I left that door locked last night."

"How old are you? Fifty something? Sixty? We all forget stuff."

"Don, you're a nice guy and stuff, but don't fuck with me or I'll snap your spine like it's a twig" Engineer raised his voice.

"Hey, hey, cowboy, relax! I told you I just came here to take a look! I respect your work!" Don raised his hands in a dramatic pose.

"If you did respect it, you'd know nothing here is of your damned business. Out."

"You're being unfair now. What are you keeping here that nobody else can see? I thought we were a team!"

"I am giving you exactly ten seconds to get out or I'll _shoot_ you out."

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving. Do you want me to show you what's in my pockets? Use a metal detector on me? I swear to baby Jesus, dude, how secretive you are..."

"OUT!"

Don finally did as he was told and walked out from the workshop. He didn't need to close the door behind him because Engineer slammed it in his face. Don held his glasses, hummed and turned around, to find Sniper gazing at him.

"All geniuses are crazy" was all he said before taking the nearest teleporter.

Sniper didn't reply to that but thought about what he had just seen and heard until he found his teammates at the lunchroom, having breakfast too or having the first smoke of the day.

"The new one's already pissed Engie off" he said in a mutter, but loud enough for people around him to hear and start a conversation.

"And I am glad. It is always me the one who is bothered" Medic smirked stirring his coffee.

"Yeah, well, he probably synchronized his period with Py-Mabel's" Scout smirked, moving he bottle of milk in front of him to one side and the other with his index finger.

"He came into his workshop."

"Oooohh..." was the general mutter.

"And he still has teeth?" Spy distractedly smoked next to Scout.

"He's been close to losing them. For what I've heard, he's opened the door somehow, so you can guess how pissed Engie was" Sniper told them.

"Wait, he did? He opened the door?"

Sniper turned his head to Spy, who was looking at him with increased interest.

"Yep. He did."

"..."

Not only was Spy surprised by this revelation: after hearing about it Scout was reminded of what happened that night when he found those papers around him and Don...

The smile of the youngest of the group disappeared, he stopped moving the bottle and went so, so silent.

"Well, sometimes we have to learn things the wrong way" Medic shrugged.

"Still, he had no business to be there" Sniper understood Engineer, we was also very meticulous concerning his work space and tools, and was on his side.

"He is curious. He will learn not to be, like Doktor says" Heavy gave a little nod, his arms crossed.

"..Well...Yeah, he is...But not the type to ask questions..."

Everybody looked at Scout, even Soldier and Demo left their discussion about Scottish men being Englishmen in a dress to listen. Seeing the look on his face and the way he spoke, it seemed that, for once, what he was about to say was interesting.

"...It probably means nothing but...Remember the day when he stayed at the base while we hit the bar? I found him reading...Something personal...About me."

"Something personal?" Medic frowned and sat well to look at him.

"Yeah, like...All of my history, my weapons, my health...I don't know where he got that...He says he found it around but..."

Spy surprised everyone standing up and rushing out of the room.

"Spy?"

He didn't reply.

"Is that what he tells you?" Heavy asked with a serious expression.

"Yeah...I don't know...Maybe Miss Pauling lost it one of these days. Files from contracts and stuff, perhaps...I don't know. But..."

"This is interesting..." Medic muttered, squinting.

"But, hey, don't tell him I told you! I don't wanna cause him trouble, okay? He's my friend."

"Oh, he is in trouble..." Far, far away from the base, the Administrator held a cigarette near her lips without smoking it, watching attentively one of the screens at her left.

The RED Spy was at the monitor room, revising the tapes which contained the recordings from the day mentioned by Scout. She saw him frown, press his lips, then march out of the room to go to his smoking room. Her cameras followed him there too. Under his favorite armchair there was a trap door, under which a safe was hidden. He introduced the code and opened it. He reviewed what was inside, then stayed there, lost in thought. Some terrible thought.

"He is in deep trouble..." the old lady mumbled, still not letting her lips touch the cigarette.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey! Engie, hey! Wait!"

Don opened the co-pilot's door just when the engine had been started and hopped in.

"The guys told me you were going to town, and I need some gallons of gasoline. If you don't mind me coming with you..."

Engineer's expression made it evident that he did mind, but Don was already in, so he guessed he would have to go. He silently drove away from the base, not looking at him, a frown installed on his face.

Don didn't speak again until some minutes passed, after leaving the restricted area and found themselves on the road.

"I'm sorry about what happened the other day. I really didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

No response from Engineer, his eyes were locked on the road in front of him.

"You're a great guy. And a professional. I admire you, really. All the amazing things you build. They've saved me a lot of times...I probably seemed like a jerk..."

"You did. I thought I made it clear on day one. I got signs outside so folks don't forget" Engineer mumbled.

"I know. What can I say? It's in my nature."

"Yeah, but we're a team, okay? Some of us have delicate jobs. I'm sorry I acted like an ogre but a little mistake can be disastrous."

"Yeah, and I get it. You don't have to apologize. I've been thinking about it and you had all the right to act that way, and I behaved like a brat. I want to apologize to you."

Engineer was silent for a moment. Slowly, his expression softened.

"I ain't mad at you. As long as it won't happen again."

"You got my word of Boy Scout" Don smiled, raising a hand.

"It's probably my fault anyway. It wouldn't be the first time I leave the door open and rant like an idiot."

"We all make mistakes, really. Don't think about it."

"Yeah...Hey, after I'm done getting what I need and alcohol supplies, I'm gonna visit Mabel."

"Ah, great!"

"And I really hope you don't start with that 'girlfriend' thing" Engineer smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"Sure not! Hey, men and women can be just friends, I am totally aware of that! So, you guys were close, huh?"

"Pretty much."

"Truth be told, I've heard Scout talk about it and she was almost portrayed as the Boogeyman, but I found her really lovely."

"She's...got issues. Pretty bad stuff. Mental sickness and stuff."

"Oh, boy."

"Yeah...Tough...So, well, it leaves me calm to check on her and see how she's managing now."

"The world out there can be even worse than battlefield, right?"

"You said it..."

The morning was busy but still peaceful. The gas station had had some problems with the mercenaries, involving car chases, bullets, drunk men who drank gasoline and stealing. However, this time the man with the glasses was asking for such a generous amount and showed so much cash that they overlooked it all. After that, they went to a hardware store, where Engineer got several components and pieces he had in a very long list. But what they really needed in great quantity was beer and liquor. That store was the only one in town which was actually glad the mercenaries came to visit—the owner rubbed his hands every time he saw any of them coming. The whole van was filled with boxes and boxes. Once this was resolved, it was time to visit Gravel Street.

However...

"Are you sure she's at home?" Don asked.

They had been knocking for a while, but no one came to answer.

"Perhaps not..." Engineer muttered. He was sure that now that Pyro had been most possibly fired, she had a lot of time to spend at home, but she might have business to do out. In that case, he turned around to leave, making a gesture to Don to follow him.

"Hey, wait, someone's coming"

The figure Don was seeing from the window walked slowly, supporting itself on the walls. The door was finally opened after a little while.

"Engie..."

For some reason Engineer didn't like the way she said that. Pyro looked different from the last time he had seen her. She was wearing a bright pink pajamas with an embroidered rainbow in the chest, but her face did not match it's tone.

"Were you sleeping?" her old friend asked her.

"No, I mean, yes? Come in, come in..." Pyro stepped aside to let them in.

"Good afternoon, miss" Don smiled at her, coming in.

"Can I get you something? A drink? A snack? I must...have something."

"No, thanks, it's okay..." Engineer replied, absent-minded. That was because there was something else he was seeing he didn't like.

He knew Pyro didn't have much possessions when she left Mann Co. And practically no money, so he didn't expect her to have much more than the clothes she had been given, her plushie toy and the scrumpy Demo had given her. But this house was so bare it didn't seem like someone was actually living there.

"You're the minimalist type, I see" Don had observed that too, and Engineer was actually glad he brought it up.

"Well, no...I'm moving out..." Pyro replied, leaning against a wall for support.

"Oh, really?" her friend asked.

"Yes. Brad proposed me to move out with him..."

"Really?" Seeing Engineer's expression, Don understood that the man was not his cup of tea.

"He's a good man. He could have...done so many things but he chose to be nice to me...And right now I can't live alone..."

"Why?" Her words brought meaning to the movements Engineer was seeing, and definitely alarmed him to the point that he walked towards her. "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"I need to sit down for a little..."

Holding her, Engineer helped her sit on the sofa delicately. She looked like she could barely stand up, as soon as she was sat, she touched her forehead, closing her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Engineer repeated.

"I'm tired...That's all...The doctor said it's perfectly normal..."

"Why?"

"The pills. It's an...effect."

"Are you taking pills? What for?"

"I don't remember the name but it's...what made me do bad things..."

Don and Engineer exchanged a glance. For a moment Engineer didn't know what to say.

"They leave me very sleepy, but at least I don't have all of these thoughts..."

"It was Brad's idea, right? The pills, I mean."

"Yes" In spite of her tiredness, Pyro could still frown. "What is wrong with that?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"I told you: he's a good man. He understands and takes care of me. He has no hidden intentions..."

"Hey, kid, maybe you don't remember, but I also took care of you when our team thought you were the Devil. Not that I want to rub it in your face. I just want you to know that I've known you for years and always worried about you, before I knew what you were like under the suit, before I knew you had a problem and everything."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying Brad's always been an asshole and I doubt he's doing so many things for you just because."

"That sounds like you are saying nobody can like me..."

Don decided at that moment to stay there just as a spectator. He didn't know what all of this was about but he knew it was getting ugly and he didn't want to intervene. They had been close to each other and now even they moved a bit apart from each other.

"...I didn't mean to say that."

"Well, it sounded like it...Also, if we were such good friends and you were the only one who liked me...Why was Spy the only one who came here to check on me? I really needed someone, and you didn't care."

"Well, for starters, I highly doubt Spy would..."

"He did. I know my mind is a wreck but please, don't act like what I see or do is just an illusion, okay?" Pyro replied, irritated. "Okay?"

"Come on, now..." Engineer mumbled, crossing his arms with an irritated tone.

Pyro interrupted him. She seemed to have regained some energy to let out all of her frustration and rage. "You say you've always been my friend but you left me alone in a world that was so, so scary to me. You left me alone when I needed you the most. You said we would keep in touch and I've seen you again because you went to have drinks with the guys and I happened to work at the place. You never looked for me. You never helped me understand what I was seeing. I could have died on the streets alone, and I doubt you would have noticed. You replaced me just like everybody else!"

"I got a work that requires moving all around the globe in short time, I just can't-"

"But you always make time for other things."

"You sound like a little, bratty girl, you know that?"

"Well, perhaps! I like things that make people happy and I've been surrounded by people who have been using me and telling me what to do, like a little girl! I think I have the right to be bratty about it! I must be a pain in the ass to deal with but don't worry, I'm not your problem anymore! Sorry I bothered you all this time: now you're free!"

There was a tense silence. Don almost thought of just walking out, keeping an ear in case everything went to hell. But it was Engineer who finished it. He had some things to say, but he was seeing Pyro's expression, and thought it was not a good idea to keep arguing. It was pointless too. And hurt them both—at least it was hurting him. So he just stood up.

"No need for you to stand up. I know where the door is...You're probably right. Your issues are not mine anymore. And I don't want you to keep remembering all the bad stuff, so..."

He made a gesture to Don to stand up and then walked to the hall.

"...Bye, Mabel. It's been nice knowing you, after all. I really hope you're happy."

Not looking back, they left. Pyro didn't say anything nor followed them. She didn't even look at them, her gaze lost somewhere on the Wall.

The way back to the van was grimly silent, Don felt extremely uncomfortable. Everything had been so good and now...

None of them turned the radio on, or talked. Don had never seen Engineer so somber, not even in battle. Without his googles on it was easier to read his facial expression and see all of this had been hard for him, even if he didn't say it aloud.

From that day forward, even if he couldn't trust Don the way he used to trust her, he started calling him Pyro, and the name of Mabel or 'Pyro-Pyro' was never mentioned again.


	9. Chapter 9

Don laughed at his own thoughts, holding the bottle with his index and middle fingers.

"When I was a kid I wanted to be a priest, you know? I grew up thinking that those guys were so Fancy and respected. It's funny. Today, I kind of do a priest job: sending souls to the Maker."

This talking got no smiles, no responses, no reactions. Still, the team was looking at him. Someone who was not as self-centered as him would have noticed that they did not do it in a friendly way. They would have noticed Scout didn't seek his company as he used to. They would have noticed Demoman didn't dare him to try his strongest liquors anymore, or that Soldier didn't tell war stories to his curious ears now. But he still had the men's attention.

"And I wanted to be gay, but that's another story."

Much had been discussed about the way they should proceed. Soldier wanted to tie him up to a chair and beat the crap out of him until he confessed what his intentions were. Medic, on the other hand, asked the team to let him try a truth serum he had been working on for a while, and see if one of its side effects was really a heart attack. Spy, however, advised them not to lose their minds and wait. With men like these it was hard to know if he was looking for something or if he was just a nosy bastard. After all, Scout, during the first days, had asked too many questions too. Also, from his experience in the field, a spy could be dangerous if cornered. Something had to be done, but they were not sure what. Waiting if he turned out to be culprit would mean exposing themselves to danger; if he was actually innocent, they would beat him up over nothing, lose his trust and leave, and they couldn't lose another Pyro when soon they'd have to move to Japan (also, they would have to do that to the other annoying member of the team, Scout, to be fair).

Heavy was in charge that day of cooking. Normally all of them had different meal times and cooked what they fancied, but sometimes they sat at the same table to eat the same thing. The Russian had promised them long time ago that he would teach them the soup his mother used to make, one which was great for colds. Once it was done, he called his teammates in no more than a mutter, as if he didn't want to break the tense silence, and each of them served themselves the amount they wanted. Curiously, none of them had much, while Don served himself a generous bowl.

"Gee, this smells good, Heavy!" he complimented Hthe big man, looking around him without finding him because his glasses had misted up.

Heavy didn't reply, and he couldn't repress a glare.

Don sat between Scout and Sniper, and both seemed uneasy to have him there.

"Let's see…" Don blew the spoon, then put it into his mouth. "Damn, and they say Russians are not good! Next time you write to your mother, tell her she's an angel. I feel like I could burst into the BLU's base right now already—that is, if she's still alive. If she's not, my apologies."

Heavy's frown intensified, making the atmosphere even colder. All of them started eating, but still all eyes were on him.

Don took a sip from his bottle again and sighed in delight.

"Guys, when I was told I had to drive to the middle of nowhere and after seeing this place, I asked myself: 'Donald, where did you get yourself into?'. But, you know what? You're such a lovely bunch. I almost wish we had met back home, so we could hang around without having people shoot at us and try to steal our shit. This is not related to the gay thing, okay? It's just that I think it's important in a team to say these things from time to time. You know, group cohesion."

Soldier trembled when hearing that. He wanted to flip the table and ask him what right did he have to speak about cohesion, being a traitor, but Medic grabbed his arm and pressed it, forcing him to stay sat and eat his soup quiet.

"And one never knows. In this profession, you can kick the bucket aaaany secondddd…"

_Blam!_

Scout's head hit his plate and there he stayed, completely still.

He was not going to drown on his soup because he was not breathing at all.

Anyway, his partners were not in in the situation of caring about him. Medic leaned to one side until he fell to the floor. Spy had tried to stand up, but fell on his seat and remained there like a puppet with no strings and his lips parted.

Don's eyes wandered around the table, met each of his partners. They were even more silent than before and none of them moved.

He took another sip and calmly stood up.

* * *

Sniper blinked when he found himself standing, in a brighter room than the lunchroom, or perhaps those were his eyes, adjusting to the light after returning to life. Because he had died. It took him a bit for his brain to function, but realization hit him.

"...THAT BLOODY BASTARD!"

"I told you we had to ambush him before he did something of this! I told you!" Soldier yelled.

"Wait, uh...P-Perhaps it was some innocent food poisioning! We've never cleaned the kitchen!" Scout said.

"And why is he not here with us? No, he has finally shown his true colors. He is definitely a spy" Spy said. And he was not happy that he hadn't seen this coming.

"Nuh-uh!"

Heavy rushed to open the door as soon as he Heard that voice at the other side. But he found he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he just...

"You snake!" Soldier tried to help him, but no matter what he did, how hard he kicked and slammed the door; it just didn't give in.

"The Good thing is that if you die from exhaustion, you'll still be in the same room…" They could hear his voice, which now seemed like a rat's to them, and him drinking from the bottle.

"W-What are you doing, Don?! What the hell, man?!" Scout also pressed his ear against the door.

"I thought this team needed to have a plan in case one of us goes rogue and stuff, so I designed some traps."

"Well thought!" Soldier exclaimed, his mood changing.

"Nah, I'm joking."

"You villain!" Soldier roared again.

"I told you: I think you're all very cool. And you have pretty awesome toys. So cool I want to show the whole world."

"You were after the blueprints…" Engineer muttered.

"Yeah, and tetanus; you should clean the metal you keep there, man!"

"So you're gonna steal all of our artifacts and become the bloody ultimate mercenary, or what?" Demoman spoke to the door.

"When so many war lords and governments are willing to pay a lovely sum for the best weapons, why would I keep working as a mercenary? In five years, I'll be at the Bahamas, drinking amd hanging out with the ladies..."

"You won't even live five more minutes!"

He tried to tear the door, even the whole Wall down. His teammates helped him. But they were still there and there was not even a crack.

"Yeah, the old hag was telling the truth when she said you were not the brightest...By the way…"

Bottle still in hand, Don cocked his head to one side of the room to look directly at one of the cameras. Somewhere, the Administrator held his gaze. Then the man flipped her off with a smile showing his teeth. Miss Pauling cringed as she saw ashes falling from her cigarette, her eyebrows furrowed, seeing how he laughed and crossed the corridor.


	10. Chapter 10

Pyro gazed at the colorful pills on the table.

"...More pills?"

Brad was placing the cutlery on the table and stopped to look at her.

"Yes. You'll see how they help you see things in a different way."

"The ones I'm taking already did that..."

"I'm talking about your problems with...you know who."

Pyro sighed, her eyes getting wet at the sole mentioning of those men, which made Brad roll his eyes.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. You have to realize that the fixation you have with those men is unhealthy, product of manipulation."

"But Brad..."

"Mabel" Brad patiently said, turning around to go to the kitchen. "We've talked about this."

"...I know, I know..." Pyro took deep air and took the napkin to play with it nervously, before her eyes started shedding tears and Brad got angry. "I just..."

"Then don't think about them anymore. Don't give them that power. All of that is over" Brad's voice was heard from the kitchen.

"...Yes..."

"You have a lot to be excited about. These pills will just...help you realize."

"Seems like there are pills for all problems..."

"Almost" Brad returned smiling, closing the door of the kitchen with his foot, carrying two plates. "You heard the doctor. Your case is a complex one. You have been influenced by terrible people since the very beginning..."

Once he served the dishes, he took a match box out of his pocket and lit the candles on the table.

"You have just been unlucky, but you're still young. You've got all your life ahead of you. You can live the life you like, free..."

He stopped, his smile freezing for a second.

"Are you okay?"

It was the way she looked at the candle, not blinking, her mouth slightly open, making her look like some wire burnt inside of her head.

"Mabel?"

He had to extend his hand to touch hers to get her attention. Finally, the woman blinked and looked at him again.

"Hm?"

"You should take the pills now."

"...Right. I almost forgot..."

Obediently, she swallowed the three pills one by one with a bit of water. After that, they starter eating.

"Did you see that Doctor Herman on TV? Te-hehe, he's crazier than his patients."

Brad's attempts to start a conversation were futile, ended up becoming nothing but a monologue. Pyro barely watched television, too focused on her reading and writing lessons, and ever since she took the pills she didn't even have the energy for that. That particular night she was not talkative at all, just eating in silence, her gaze on the candle in front of her—like hypnotized.

Brad cleaned his mouth with the napkin.

"Full already?"

Pyro had just placed the fork on the barely touched plate.

"Sorry, Brad. It's great, but I can't..."

"Feeling tired again?"

Pyro's attention was divided between Brad's face and the flame.

"...I've been feeling nothing but tired these last weeks..."

"Okay, let me help you."

Brad stood up and gently helped her stand up. Pyro smiled at him as he took her to the sofa.

"You're an angel, Brad."

The man simply smiled. He helped Pyro lay down. As soon as he body adopted a comfortable posture, she was sure she wouldn't get up in a long time. Her eyes were already closing, her body demanded rest, even if she did nothing during the day. She groaned a bit, placing a hand on her forehead. And like that she stayed for a while.

Until an unexpected touch made her open her eyes.

Brad was close. Closer than someone had ever been to her.

"Bmm?" she muttered.

His eyes were not on her, but too busy on what his hands were doing.

"What are you...?" Pyro was finally able to mutter.

"Sssshh..."

"Brad..."

It was then when she noted how cold his hands were, when they lifted her dress and touched her thigh.

Instinctively, she kicked the man, perhaps with not much force, but strong enough for him to draw back.

"Brad!"

Pyro tried to stand up, but before she could do it Brad came closer, his expression changing completely, and forced her down with a slap. Not saying anything, and there was really no need for him to, he kept her down with a hand around her neck while the other kept what he was doing, his face approaching hers to get a taste of her cherry lips.

That is, until the world unexpectedly turned black.

It took him long to realize his strength and the pills had not been enough. He asked himself how and when did the tables turned, but he had no time to follow the only clue the had, a terrible headache: he found himself tied to the chair of the dining room with the tablecloth and Pyro in front of him.

"What the...? What have you done to me, you witch?" he yelled.

"I should ask you the same question, Brad..." Pyro muttered.

"Let me go! Release me!"

"I'm guessing that...you didn't really care about me? Eh? Didn't you?"

"Let me go!"

"All you wanted was...was...something else?"

"Mabel..." Brad changed his plan, looking at her without screaming or making a scene. "You're cute and nice...What you are doing is a mistake...Your sickness is acting up again. I am your friend. The only one you have in the world, Mabel. I don't want to harm you. Please...Please, baby, let me go..."

"My sickness?"

"Yes. Don't you see? You are doing bad things again. We were just eating and you...What's wrong, Mabel? Why are you doing this?"

Pyro felt shivers down her spine, making her tremble.

Again? Was she hurting someone innocent again? She...

"Please, Mabel. Everything will be alright, friend..."

Pyro nodded, almost like an spasm, and got closer.

Too close, Brad thought, before she pressed her lips against him.

Brad did not resist. Not until he started feeling that sharp pain which made him shake frenetically, muffling some screams. When Pyro pulled away, she had his under lip between her teeth and Brad's neck and chest were stained by a red cascade falling from his mouth.

Then, the lady slowly chewed it, swallowed it and giggled afterwards. Red made her lips look even more charming, like one of these actresses.

Too bad he was not around when Engie came to visit. He didn't get the memo that she hated it when people didn't take seriously what she saw or thought.

Her gaze turned to the beauty on the table and distracted her from the whining man who was bleeding on the chair. She held the candle with the care one would have put on a newborn baby.

Fire.

The friend which never failed. Her source of happiness. The spoonful of sugar which made the medicine go down. Magic.

See how it sparkles. You've forgotten but there it is. They've tried to keep you away from it, but it always returns.

It's speaking, can't you hear? Unlike everyone, it's not telling you what to do, just showing you the way.

"Aaaaah...!" Brad was trying to speak, perhaps plea, because she was getting too close with that thing in her hands, and the look on her face, like out of this world, was making his skin turn white.

Pyro only turned her eyes away from the candle to look at his face for a fraction of second before dropping the candle on him.

Brad started screaming before the flames started burning his clothes and what was under it. The man shook, but it only seemed to make the fire spread quicker. Pyro stood there, insensitive to it, watching how the little flame became bigger and bigger, consuming Brad, not really paying attention to his screams. There was fine smile on her face, like a little girl's.

And still smiling she abandoned the house to watch the warm colors better, as the fire spread through the carpet, the walls and the furniture.

Out in the cold, seeing her creation, Pyro though she finally felt at home. Like herself. Some people screamed, but she remained insensitive to it all. After a while, she walked away calmly.

She didn't like people doubting about her senses, but she owed an apology to the guys. They were actually right. She didn't remember who Brad was, the guy who chased women, who treated them like cattle, and had found himself a dumb girl to use as his doll. Yeah, she was probably very stupid for falling for that. But she was positively sure they would forgive her. Men or cute creatures, they had always been around, helping and having fun with her.

Hugging herself, still feeling the warmth of the fire inside of her bones, she started walking, closing her eyes from time to time to focus on what the way used to look like, when skies were always blue and with a rainbow, the land was sparkly and everybody was happy. Funny how it was the same path after all, just not that pretty.


	11. Chapter 11

She was calm. Furious, but calm. This was not the moment to lose her mind. Just...to smoke one cigarette right after the other.

"Did they disconnect him from respawn?"

It would have been nice to see him die and being sent to the respawn room with the teammates he had just betrayed and robbed, but she was not in the mood for sadistic games. He was a threat they had to eliminate as soon as possible.

"Okay...Okay, thanks!" Miss Pauling rushed back to the Administrator's side after a brief exchange of words with an employee. "It's done, Administrator."

"Good. **_Kill him_!**"

Those words were obviously meant for someone who was not him. Don didn't know exactly who or how many. But he knew one thing: if they wanted to get him, they would have to sweat.

He gave one more daring look to the nearest camera, like if he was in some twisted Looney Tunes short, and clicked the button of the watch around his wrist.

And just like that, the ginger disappeared from the screen.

"Oh, don't tell me the monitors are failing now..." Miss Pauling mumbled.

"It's not the monitors" the Administrator grunted, "He used the Spy's device!"

The armed men who burst into the base had to know about this...

"**_Keep your eyes open! He made himself invisible_**!" she announced through the loudspeakers.

Inside of the respawn room, Spy closed his eyes and groaned. He was glad he didn't give in to Don's curiosity about his methods, but the watch was very intuitive and he was starting to fear he would find out how to take the most out of it quickly...

Heavy kept slamming his big body against the door unsuccessfully. Under his feet remained the pieces of the bench they had crushed against it, also in vain.

"Damn, that piece of shit built a mighty good barricade!"

"He surely set this up!"

He stopped. The eight mercenaries got closer to listen. There were men outside!

"Hey! Let us out!" Scout slammed his fists against the door to get their attention.

"We're on it! We're on it! We need a bit of time, you have no idea of all the stuff that guy has in here!" the voice replied.

"How the hell did he do this..." another voice could be heard mumble.

"He had it all planned...The question is, for how long? And why didn't we see it?" Medic was muttering too, too nervous to stay in one place, so he had to walk around the room.

"Urgh!" Heavy roared. "My fault! Didn't see him poison soup!"

"It's everybody's fault, calm down" Demoman sighed, sitting on the floor because there was little else he could do. The men were working on clearing up the door, they were hearing it. Why losing their minds, then? As soon as they were done, they would get their weapons and turn that traitor into pulp.

Then, suddenly, a different sound came to their ears.

Agonizing screams.

They knew what kind of screams those were, because they had been burnt alive in some occasions and they knew the excruciating pain.

And after the screams, that dead silence, when the poor unfortunate dudes suffered no more and fire consumed what was left of their bodies. Smoke was filtering from under the door, revealing that the barricade was on fire. Gosh, that awful smell, of metal, wood and flesh burning.

And after the smell, him.

"You know what I love the most about fire? ..._The way they squeal_..."

Scout felt suddenly so cold he had to hug himself. Not so long ago that voice had told him the funniest jokes and laughed at his, called him little bro and its owner felt somewhat like a lost eighth brother.

"Don, for the love of God, man..."

"Aw, poor puppy child. That's what you get for trying to fill your holes with anyone who pays a little attention to you. Hope you treasure this lesson I am giving you."

"I swear on my life, Don" Scout frowned, his voice changing too, not sounding so much like a kid, "that I'm gonna break your face as soon as I'm outta here."

"You're so cute" Don laughed at the other side. "Welp! Time for me to go! It's been really nice knowing you, folks! I'm taking a few things as souvenirs!"

"You'd better not sell my junk to communists! Did you hear me?!" Soldier was probably aware of the inferno behind that door, that was why all he did was kick the door.

"Okay, now what? Now what?" Medic opened his arms.

"This is not the time for tantrums, Doc." Sniper was scratching his face.

"Ah, sure, sorry. For a moment I was worried about that man out there who is going to sell my inventions to some billionaire brute, has locked us up in here and set the base on fire!" Medic replied, furious.

"I'm thinking!" Sniper replied, just frowning at his words.

"There is nothing to think. By the time we manage to open the door, he will be gone" Spy said, getting a cigarette from his case. "And if you excuse me, I would like to smoke because, who cares now? The smoke is coming in and we will die of asphyxiation anyway."

"Aye, what the hell, give me one too..." Demoman sighed, walking towards him, his expression showing how little he cared now.

"Where are those imbeciles?! They split! They had to encounter them!" the Administrator exclaimed, her eyes looking into all of the cameras.

"Uh..." Miss Pauling found them. Third screen on the top row. That pile of burning corpses were the group which decided to go after Don while the others freed the mercenaries.

"Fantastic..." the Administrator groaned, lighting a cigarette and closing her eyes after the first drag.

For some seconds, the only thing they could do was watch the man get into all of the rooms and areas, looting. He finally got inside of the workshop without any Texan complaining about it and took the blueprints. At the infirmary, he grabbed the Medi Guns, the papers with the formula and all übercharge matter stored, as well as danced with the head of the enemy Spy inside of the fridge and played with the doves and Medic's crossbow, killing three and wounding two. He didn't play fool when he had to manipulate Demoman's explosive balls. He tried to take Sasha out but had to use a lift, because his arms were not that strong. He also sneaked inside of Spy's smoking room and put all of his watches, sappers and other devices inside of the pockets of his suit. The only room he didn't loot was his own, because he had already put all of the previous Pyro's toys inside of the truck. It was shameful to see but Miss Pauling watched it all.

"Oh, my God...I can't believe this..."

"Yes, I know...We made a huge mistake...Some rascals are great liars too. If he wasn't robbing us, I'd applaud him..." the Administrator muttered.

"So, is there nothing we can...?"

"Miss Pauling, unless some deity descends from the sky to solve this or to give us some idea, I don't know how-"

Something seen from the corner of her eye made the Administrator interrupt herself. She leaned forward, squinting. Miss Pauling looked into that direction too.

"...Who is that?"

"The sentries didn't make a sieve out of him, so I suppose it's one of us..." the old woman mumbled.

She zoomed, to find a face which was familiar. Tremendously familiar.

"W-What is she doing here? How did she find us?" Miss Pauling asked, her mouth hanging in surprise.

"I don't know, but she should have come armed..." her boss replied.

* * *

It was the same way. Pyro was surprised she recognized it even if it was dark and the way she remembered it sun always shone. At least not everything she had experienced was a lie, she told herself. It existed—just in a different way. That was a desert instead of a green meadow under a rainbow and the old road used to be a red brick road to her. But the path was the same. She had drove and walked there so many times she knew it by heart.

It felt weird crossing that hidden bridge again, surrounded by rocks, in the cold night, with those machines following all of her movements. Last time she did she was scared, she didn't know what was going on, who the people around her were, why their hands were filled with blood. Not that the situation was better now. She still had questions inside of her head. But she knew something for certain: she was not alone in the world. Those men, even if they had participated in that lie, were good men and were all she had. She had to tell them she was sorry she left them for Brad. They were right when they called him a jerk. Perhaps they could help her go back to that...business.

Medic was right after all, wasn't he? There was something inside of her and it was no use hiding it or pretending it wasn't there.

She was not normal. Neither were they. So they had to be together.

Taking deep breath, she opened the door.

"...Hello?"

No answer. Oh, that place was so big her voice almost echoed.

"Engie? Spy?"

Perhaps they were sleeping? In that case she would apologize.

"It's me...Uh...Mabel. I came to...I don't know. But Brad is dead and...And we need to talk, I guess. Because I killed him."

What if they left? They mentioned they traveled a lot. Perhaps...Oh, no, they were there. She was seeing a table with nine bowls of soup, drinks and all. What a relief. She would have felt just awful if they had left without having had the chance to talk...

"Guys?"

She kept walking, inspecting every room, only to find emptiness.

Until she found the burning bodies and, next to them, a burning barricade.

The fire made her stop and watch in silence for a moment. How big those flames were. How precious.

She had to shake her head to break out from her trance.

"Guys?"

Inside of the respawn room, the men's bodies responded as if they had been pinched.

"Is this some kind of...game? Or just a Thursday to you or...?" she asked aloud. Oh, gosh, look at the way that watch was burning.

"...Is that...?" Scout muttered.

Sniper frowned, approaching the door. "...Mabel?" he called.

"Yes! I'm here! Where are you?"

"What in the..." Engineer ran to the door. In fact, all of them did. "MABEL!"

"Yes, it's me! What are you doing there?" she looked around until she was convinced that the voice was coming from the room behind the barricade.

"What are _you_ doing here?!" Demoman yelled.

"Well, I..."

"Medic, is she still on respawn?" Spy then asked Medic.

"Of course not, when she was fired, I removed her chip su-"

Realization hit Medic, making him open his eyes wide.

"Whatever you came to do here, you have to get out, NOW!"

"Wha-? Why? No, I need to tell you..." Pyro replied.

"No, you don't understand! If he finds you and kills you...!" Spy exclaimed.

She didn't need to ask who they were talking about. Her head turned to the figure standing behind her. Surprised for a moment, yes, but soon displaying a grin.

"Well, well. If I had known you were visiting, I would have groomed myself a little bit..."


	12. Chapter 12

Pyro had had her intelligence insulted and questioned several times in the last months, with a good reason. But at that moment everything seemed crystal clear to her. One didn't need to be very smart to realize. Also, her guts also told her there was something wrong with Don. It was not that he was wearing that infernal suit, the way he spoke, the rocket launcher he was carrying with him—she could not describe what it was exactly, but it was something much deeper than that, which spoke to her soul, and sent a message to the primal part of her brain. Fight or flee.

But she stayed, watching the man with the glasses approach her, smiling.

"I thought you didn't want to know about these dudes again. Maybe you came for me? Even if you didn't, it's so nice having you, doll..."

"Mabel, run!"

"Don't you dare touch her!"

Pyro's eyes turned to the source of the voices. Don, on the other hand, didn't mind them.

"You know? I've slept in your room, worn your suit, used your weapons and I've always felt so curious about you. These times we've met, you looked nothing like the way I pictured you in my head, seeing what I've seen, hearing what your ex-partners said about you. You were a monster the time you were here, indeed. But then I see you and ask myself...Are these guys kidding me? Or is she a hell of an actress?"

"She's a civilian, Don, I don't want to think you'd go so low!"

"We're just talking, man! Just that. A little chat, from Pyro to Pyro." Don got closer and Pyro felt the urge to step back as he did, but in the end she stayed right where she was. She forced herself to look at that man to the face. To that Cheshire cat smile. "These guys don't understand. What it's like to be a Pyro. How close you can get. The power of fire, perhaps not as fast as a bullet or powerful like an explosive, but...it's got something, right?"

"...You have no idea of what fire means..." Pyro felt words naturally coming out of her mouth, without thinking what she said before. "For you...fire is something you just use to get what you want...Isn't it right?"

Don seemed surprised, even thought of it for some seconds. Then, he smiled again and chuckled.

"Right. They told me. You played another league. Your reasons to be here were peculiar, right? You were not here for money, experimentation or just to know what if feels like to kill a man...Well...What can I say? After the words you had with the cowboy, I thought you'd just forget about all of this and make your fairy tale come true. You know...enjoy fire somewhere else...I don't know what you came to do here, but...Okay. I feel generous. After all, I've always kind of had a thing for you, precious. Go now and everything will be okay."

But Pyro didn't move. It didn't matter how long he stared, she kept looking at him, her body tense.

Perhaps he had to be a little more convincing.

"Remember this?" he showed the flare gun to her. "Remember how bad it hurts? Well, this little beauty is going to destroy your pretty face if you don't leave now."

They were close, so close. Close enough for him to see in her chest how deep she was breathing, but he wasn't sure if that was contained fear. If it was, he would help with it.

He fired. The projectile zoomed near Pyro's ear and exploded against the floor, leaving a dark stain.

Still no reaction from her.

No? Don smirked. Okay...

However, this time the explosive didn't hit Pyro's face, but the ceiling above them. The next thing Don knew was that he was struggling to keep the weapon in his hands. Teeth gritted, Pyro used all of her might to try to steal it from him and have a chance, turn the tables, at least have a chance not to die in the hands of that jerk.

She was strong. Don told himself that her appearance was really mistaking. But she was just a big child, and he was not going to lose against someone like that. He kicked her stomach, forcing her to draw back and fired. Her sudden movement made him miss and gave her the chance to run towards one of the roasted Mann Co. employees and get his shotgun.

Once again, what she had learned while she was in other world was not in vain. This confetti gun just shot different stuff.

She had luck, she guessed. The first shot got him in the stomach and pushed him to the floor, where he lied immobile.

"Mabel!"

"It's okay! I'm here!" she replied.

"What happened?"

"It's over! I...I'm gonna get you out of there!"

Throwing the gun away, she gazed at the flames and...actually, felt like she really didn't know how exactly. Those were out of control, soon they would spread to the whole base. It was useless to try and do something by hand or go get some water to put it out. Perhaps if she put the suit on? No...

Even she started coughing. There was just too much smoke there. She couldn't even see Don's corpse.

Please, she had to do something. She didn't know for how long they were in there, or what he had done to them.

Wait. If she had her rainbow, no, flame thrower, perhaps she could...

"Okay! Wait! I have an idea! I'll be back in a s-!"

As soon as she turned around to run and look for her old weapon, her face met a fist which made her fall backwards.

It belonged to something which emerged from the smoke. Don. Or at least that was what she guessed. He looked...different...monstrous now. His whole body seemed like covered in ruby, his eyes were sparkly yellow. Like if he had become some sort of red entity.

He had broken her nose, blood was falling profusely down her lips. And it was not enough. Of course not. He was going to make her pay for that shot.

Don forced her up pulling her hair and showed her again that grin of his, just even more disturbing now. His yellow eyes and mouth shone among that smoke, giving him a phantasmagorical look. Pyro cringed just thinking that this was going to be last thing she saw in her life.

Because she had no doubt that Don was going to kill her. And this time he would use no weapons.

"Oh, shit, come on, come on!" Inside of the respawn room, the eight men used all of their remaining strength to try again, because time was running out for their ex-partner and themselves, and after hearing Pyro face him out there unarmed, they were not going to say they wouldn't let Don win without a fight too.

The barricade was falling apart, its elements consuming in the fire. The door started to crack.

Don hit again. Then again. And again. And again. Pyro went limp for a moment, but Don knew she was still alive. Probably just unconscious.

"Come on, wake up, you piece of shit. I want you to be awake for this."

He shook her, until she opened her eyes again, coughing up blood.

Don then grabbed her arm and twisted it until a horrendous crack was heard. Pyro howled in pain. Don seemed to enjoy the music, seeing his sinister smile widen, because he repeated it with the other arm, this time by the elbow. And now, the _pièce of resistance_. Grabbing her from the neck, he lifted her and approached her to the flames.

If the bitch liked fire so much, she would have it.

Pyro tried to kick him, but she had little strength left. Even if the effect of the übercharge had worn off, she had little strength left. She got to kick his gonads and chest, but he kept smiling, just took a second to stop, groan and say something very bad about her mother, and kept walking. He was winning. He knew.

But he had forgotten about the mercenaries. He had forgotten about all the wood furniture he had used to keep them locked inside of the respawn room. He forgot of fire consuming it. And how strong those men were in group.

The door burst open and before Don could do anything something, like an arrow, pounced on him, and the last thing he knew before the world ended for him was that that shooting something was very mad at him.

Scout was never a very strong guy, but he was fast, he had surprise in his favor and he was very, very pissed. Don fell backwards on the burning barricade. The fire did not hurt his body but even having worn the mask wouldn't have saved him from that iron bar which went through his head in the fall. The young man grabbed his ex-partner before Don took her with him and with a foot and lots of rage he stepped on the face, sinking the head deeper, breaking the nose and some teeth.

He told him he was going to break his fucking face.

Panting, he turned his head to the only Pyro which mattered then, and held her as carefully as he could.

"Doc!"

"Help me take her outside! Somebody try to put out this fire and get my Medi Gun, for the love of God!" Medic commanded, and with Scout he moved Pyro away from that inferno, while Spy ran to get his device and the others tried to extinguish the fire.

Pyro looked so numb and moved so little Scout started to fear they had gone out too late.

"Mabe! Mabe, come on, stay with us! Stay with us, buddy!"

And the girl supposed she was dying, because she had never heard Scout call her 'buddy'...


	13. Chapter 13

Pyro took deep breath, feeling her mind clear as pain disappeared. She turned her eyes to one side and saw that the gruesome angle her arm had ended up into corrected itself with a crack. She felt a similar sensation in her other arm: when she looked, she felt perfectly capable of moving it without feeling a great pain. As for her nose, she felt it solid, intact, just leaving blood as proof that it had been broken.

"This should do. Feeling better?" Medic asked her.

Pyro found a more comfortable position, sitting, now that she was out of danger. Smoke was still coming out of open windows and doors but it seemed it was all under control because the eight men were there, around her, looking at her with concern.

She didn't reply immediately.

"I'd like to know something" she finally said, "and I'd like you to be honest. If that had been me...would you have been sorry?"

"You inhaled a lot of smoke, don't give your head such-"

"Please."

"Pyro" Soldier crouched to take her hand and help her stand up, then placed his hands on her shoulders and talked in everybody's name. "All this time that guy took your place this team was a transvestite. Now he's dead, you're here and everything's fine."

"...Really?" Big eyes gazed at him intensively.

"No. No, Mabel" Engineer approached. "You are now free to live the life you want. I don't know what you came to do here but you almost got killed. You...should be anywhere else."

A fine smile slowly grew in Pyro's face.

After that, she surprised the Engineer with a tight hug. A hug she used to nuzzle his neck, feel his heartbeat, his muscles, his smell. Things that were so familiar and couldn't believe she thought they were not real.

"...You guys...You're the closest thing to a family I've ever had. In fact...I really have nothing apart from you. I came here because this time I've been away, in the real world, I've realized that something big was missing, and that something is you. Eating together, playing cards, sleeping under the same roof, the missions...You have no idea of how I missed it..."

"Uh..." Engineer swallowed, then wrapped his arms around her too. "Well, we missed you too, of course we did" Some partners nodded at this. "But they brought you here with lies and, well, it's mighty nice what you said about us, but you'll find better people to hang out with, someone who're not murderers..."

"Thanks for your concern, Engie. But, murderers or not, I've got very clear you're the ones I want to stay with...If you let me, of course..."

"Are you kidding? After all that's happened, you're the only Pyro I want here!" Demoman said.

"You said it, Demo. And...uh...yeah, well, if I'm honest..." Scout shrugged with a little smile, not looking at Pyro directly. "You're...not that bad, I guess. I mean, you're definitely better than Don. At least you're not a two-faced bastard. Uh...Yeah, I want you to stay!"

"...You do?"

"Yeah!"

"Don't you think I am a freak anymore?"

"Who told you-Uhhh, I mean, no, of course not!"

Pyro giggled and not letting go of Engineer totally, she wrapped an arm around Scout's thin waist and attracted him into the hug. The boy chuckled and let her do so. Hell, after what happened, he definitely thought he preferred this Pyro a billion times.

"Anyway, I killed Brad, so I guess the new life I was building is ruined and I am a fugitive now" Pyro shrugged.

"Wait, you killed Brad?"

"Yep..."

"Is nice" was Heavy's comment, and everyone agreed.

What the hell, Soldier was right: everything was fine now, so the big man smiled and joined the hug. The others, one by one, gave in and also gave Pyro the welcome she deserved. After all, they had all missed her in one way or another.

"Sorry to interrupt the happy movie moment..."

The nine turned their heads to Miss Pauling. When did she come? For how long had she been there? They didn't know, and never asked.

"...but the Administrator wants to have a word with you" she said, looking at Pyro.

* * *

Pyro controlled her nervousness through her breathing. She didn't know the old woman in the screen. She didn't remember her, how unpleasant her voice sounded, how severe her eyes felt, even through a screen. She wasn't surprised she didn't have an imaginary counterpart because there was no way one could make those features softer and happier. Even before she spoke to her and showed her intentions, Pyro felt already nervous.

However, her words were not that severe. She just stated the situation in her hands. An ex-employee who didn't know anything about the company she used to work for, yet remembered very compromising details, who was horrified about the war, yet killed people as a civilian. Who had helped them deal with a great menace to the team.

"...What should I do with you, then?" the lady spoke, legs crossed, cigarette in hand, eyebrows furrowed, intense gaze.

Pyro kept sitting very still, her legs together, just licked her lips before replying in a mutter:

"I would like to stay here...Please..."

"Yes, I heard all that corny discourse. Missing your old friends and everything...But if you want to stay here, you will have to work. You will have to go back to your duty, which is burning everything and everyone in the way for our objectives."

"...I know..."

"You know there will be death, blood and lots of things which are not pretty at all."

"Yes."

"If you go back to being useless or decide you prefer to go back to being a civilian, we won't be as charitable to you as we were the first time."

"I understand. And I still want to get my job back."

"You know those men are not really your friends, don't you? They are just individuals who were recruited to do a job and are just perfectly coordinated. That so-called friendship you think you have with them is just habit. One day their services will no longer be needed and you will be alone again."

"...With all due respect, ma'am...If you really think so...It means you are not less blind than I was..."

Pyro had no idea of how she had the nerve to talk her back, but she did, and she was starting to think the Administrator would call someone to shoot her dead at that precise moment. But it seemed she would live another day. The old woman just curved her lips and made a guttural sound she supposed was a chuckle.

"Very well. In the next days you will be called to sign your new contract. We will pretend nothing happened...and I am also talking about your performance."

There was no goodbye. The screen just turned off and Pyro had to assume that was all.

She stood up and turned to the door, where Miss Pauling was still standing. She seemed strange, almost nervous, so different from the time she came to take her out of the base and leave her in Teufort, with no resource, no indications, no explanations, no thanks for your years of work. Maybe she thought she was back at being a beast? Or wasn't she sure about her meeting the Administrator's expectations and was seeing her in a few weeks with a bullet in her head and her body dissolving somewhere hidden? In any way, when Pyro walked past her to go back to her partners, she smiled at her as if they were the good friends she once thought they were.

Even if she was back to Red, she wanted to leave the past behind.


	14. Chapter 14

_"We called this the Pyrovision. It will allow you to see the things you used to see, based on what you described to us...It...Well...It's your choice to go back any time you want..."_

Pyro gazed at the googles she had in her hands. She felt them calling her. Come on, Pyro, come play with us. Balloonicorn and all of your friends are here, waiting for you, we didn't forget you. Things will be much better with us. There are no problems here, you will see no blood or feel no pain.

After a moment of thought, she put them back to the box and left it inside of her wardrobe.

It was very tempting, she couldn't deny it. The idea that in a couple of days she would have to kill people and she would probably be killed herself in numerous ways, all of them really painful and gory, made the idea of escaping, of turning off her conscience, very tempting.

Then she told herself that she had spent most, if not all of her life living in a fantasy and it was about time she came into terms with real life. The chance to go back to Pyroland was there. She would do it from time to time. But that was not the moment.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Don had placed one in the room, and made some more changes as well, turning what seemed like the cave of a monster into a decent bedroom for a sane person. She was fine with the changes, really. She just added a few things.

There was a pile of books on the table Don had brought too—the original had been burnt as soon as she occupied the room for the first time, years before—, which would allow her to keep practicing her reading and writing in her free time. Demo said, while they finally sat to drink the bottle of scrumpy, she was doing fine, and dared her to read and understand the instruction book of the fridge. There it was; Pyro was determined to show him. She went back on decorating the walls too. They used to be strange, bizarre, disturbing even, the smoke from the frequent fires she started made them fade. Now she had the chance to make something pretty and bring a little of Pyroland to her everyday world so it didn't feel so cold. Green meadows, candy vegetation and happy creatures filled the walls now. Her technique was not the best, she knew, but it was her own work and she was proud of it, and it helped the room look less of a cell, since it had no windows. Next to her bed she had painted something else which was not fantasy: a family composed of a mother, a father and two girls, one older than the other. She still didn't know what they were like and supposed she would never know; she painted the image created in her head of what they were like, taking what she had seen on television, in the streets and her own features as a model. Her mom, with a dress and a beehive, her dad, with glasses, a respectable mustache, a pipe and a suit, and her sister with a pink dress, ponytails and a big smile. That way she would have them close to her bed when she slept—she talked to them often, still with regret, but also to tell them about her days, and what she was becoming. For what she had been told, people who died were always close, watching and hearing too.

At least she felt was becoming something. Ever since she removed the suit and was left in Teufort, she felt like no one, nothing. No name. No friends. No possessions. No skills. No past. No present. No future. Even when she got that job, gave herself a name and thought she was becoming a useful member to society she felt like nothing at all. But those days had been left behind.

She knew most of what she had now was a lie. She knew her birth name was probably not Mabel, her family probably looked different from her drawings, had an approximate idea of her age because she didn't even have a precise date, the place she found comfort in did not really exist. But at least now she was aware that it was all a pretty, comforting lie. It was a lie of her own choice.

And there was something real: her teammates. Whatever happened, there was just this one thing she couldn't doubt about: she had someone who actually gave a damn about her, didn't expect anything in return or cared if she had some issues. At the end of the day, who could say he didn't have them? Which of them could claim his mind was perfectly fine and sane? They were a bunch of weirdos. But weirdos understand each other.

She had their support. To stop giving a damn if she killed someone or she was the one killed. To convince herself that the civilians out there committed greater and less honorable crimes than they did. To think that it wasn't so bad, not remembering one's past or not having one which was worth remembering. To build a future, an identity without the uniform, to look forward.

Spy, once again, talked privately to her about this. Pyro hadn't realized before of how well they could understand each other, maybe because she didn't have her mental faculties in order as she did now. She guessed masked mercenaries had something the others couldn't even understand. Forgetting about yourself. Not letting people know. The manipulation. How you present yourself. The secrets. She still had those conversations with Medic with the purpose of exploring what was in her mind—at least now the doctor was sincere about his intentions—but the longest, deepest conversations were now with Spy. He never talked about himself, but he liked to hear her guess what her life was like before her passion for fire, her delusions brought her there, why it was so hard fitting in the real world, imagining what life would have been if Mann Co. had never found her. There were times when she saw Spy wanted to expose his own experience but ended up silent and just let her talk. Perhaps one day he would finally trust her the way he asked her to trust him or lose that fear to talk about himself.

There were still traces of Don wherever she looked. In the team too. Scout was happy to have her back, but it was evident she would never share the complicity he had with Don. Don was so sure of himself, he was charming, ruthless and professional. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't, that's what she guessed her partners thought sometimes, the reason why the boss readmitted her. She didn't care. She knew she was not like them but would do everything she could to go back to her monstrous Pyro self, or at least be at their level. She would work hard. Take deep breath, hold her guts. She was positively sure she would find it funny after some time. It felt mighty good breaking Linda's face and burning Brad alive. It was just a matter of habits.

She was not like Don, she said to herself, looking at the big eyes, the short hair—Soldier helped her find a haircut which was more appropriate to the battlefield—, the face so many people had described as pretty. She didn't care about money. She was home. She was with the people she loved the most in the world. She wasn't as cocky sure of herself, or charming, or relatable, or funny or friendly as he was. She didn't have a past to talk about. Her mind was a mess and controlled her more than she controlled it. But she knew where she was going. Her name was Mabel Lee, she was thirty-five, and she would go wherever her eight partners went and die for them in the battle which was about to take place and always.

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
